Emirates Airline To Resume Nigeria Flights In June – FG
UAE carrier, Emirates, is expected to resume its flights to Nigeria in June this year, the federal government has hinted.
This is coming almost two years after the airline suspended flights to Nigeria over issues bothering on trapped funds, among others.
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, disclosed this when he featured on Arise Television on Monday.
The minister noted that President Bola Tinubu played a significant role in resolving the frosty relations between the two countries.
According to the minister, the Nigerian government and the United Arab Emirates have resolved issues, and the airline is set to announce the date for its first flight.
Keyamo said the UAE airline sent a letter confirming its readiness to resume flight operations in Nigeria.
“Emirates flight resumption is almost happening. I just received a letter from Emirates. The letter is on my phone now. They have gone through all the gamut, and they are ready to come back. They will announce the date because to restart a route, they have to get an aircraft for that route,” he said.
In November 2023, after the Dubai Airshow, Keyamo announced that he spoke with the representatives of Emirates Airlines concerning a possible resumption.
He said the airline was working on the small details and would announce the exact date of their resumption of the flights.
Speaking further, Keyamo stated, “I am announcing to Nigerians for the first time; that I just received a letter from Emirates now. The letter is with me. I have a hard copy thanking you for all the efforts we made. Mr. President was the showman here. He was the one who pushed for it.
“He made my job easy because he went there, and had a diplomatic shuttle to resolve all the issues. That was why I said the last announcement was hasty and not fake news. They will announce the date for their next flight. We have received a letter confirming that all the issues have been resolved and that we are prepared to start coming back. It may be before June,” the minister said.
Emirates had announced suspension of its flights from Nigeria with effect from September 1, 2022 over inability to repatriate funds.
The airline attributed the October suspension to the $85bn revenue trapped in Nigeria.
