Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace development, has clarified that foreign airlines operating in Nigeria are not mandated to serve local dishes on outbound flights.
His statement followed a directive issued on Tuesday, instructing foreign airlines to patronise local caterers for on-board meals.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Keyamo said the airlines must patronise local caterers, who are fully equipped to prepare continental or other specified meals based on the airlines’ requirements.
“This is to clarify that directing foreign airlines on out-bound flights to patronise our local caterers is not the same thing as directing them to serve local dishes,” Keyamo said.
“Our local caterers can also prepare continental dishes or anyone for that matter ACCORDING TO THEIR OWN SPECIFICATION.”
Keyamo condemned the long-standing practice of airlines bringing frozen meals from other countries and reheating them for Nigerian passengers on outbound flights, noting that the method is no longer acceptable.
He reassured the airlines that Nigeria has quality control agencies in place to monitor the hygiene and safety standards of meals prepared by local caterers.
“On the flip side, if they want us to trust the quality of the food they bring into our country to serve our own citizens, then they also should trust our own process of vetting those meals made by our local caterers,” he said.
“The bottom line is that we must support our local businesses with our huge population and traffic.”
Keyamo added that foreign caterers should not benefit from opportunities that are meant to primarily support the Nigerian economy.