16th May, 2024
By Ayorinde Oluokun/Abuja
UAE-based airline, Emirates has announced that it will resume flight services to Nigeria from 1 October 2024 with a daily service between Lagos and Dubai.
Emirates Ariline suspended flight operations to Nigeria in October 2022 over its inability to repatriate funds trapped in the country.
However, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN had earlier said the funds belonging to the airline and others trapped in the country as a result of difficulty in sourcing for foreign exchange have been settled.
Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo had also indicated some days ago that the UAE carrier will resume flight operations to Nigeria very soon.
Emirates Airlines confirmed the the resumption of flight operations to Nigeria from 1, October 2024 in a statement on its website on Thursday,
The airline said service to Nigeria will be operated using a Boeing 777-300ER.
The flight will depart Dubai at 0945hrs, arriving in Lagos at 1520hrs; the return flight EK784 will leave Lagos at 1730hrs and arrives in Dubai at 0510hrs the next day.
Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer said, “We are excited to resume our services to Nigeria. The Lagos-Dubai service has traditionally been popular with customers in Nigeria and we hope to reconnect leisure and business travellers to Dubai and onwards to our network of over 140 destinations.
“We thank the Nigerian government for their partnership and support in re-establishing this route and we look forward to welcoming passengers back onboard.”
“As a major economic hub in Africa, Nigeria and the UAE have built strong bilateral trade relations over the years, headlined by Lagos as the nation’s commercial centre. With the resumption of daily passenger flights, the airline’s cargo arm, Emirates SkyCargo, will further bolster the trade relationship by offering more than 300 tonnes of bellyhold cargo capacity, in and out of Lagos every week.
Emirates SkyCargo will support Nigerian businesses by exporting their goods via its state-of-the-art hub in Dubai, into key markets such as the UAE, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Bahrain, among others with key anticipated commodities such as Kola Nuts, food and beverages, and urgent courier material.
“Emirates SkyCargo will also import vital goods such as pharmaceuticals and electronics as well as general cargo from key markets such as the UAE, India and Hong Kong. Keeping trade flowing seamlessly, these goods will be transported quickly, efficiently, and reliably via the airline’s multi-vertical specialized product portfolio,” the airline said.
