The Nigerian government has announced that UAE-based airline Emirates is expected to resume flights to Nigeria in June 2024, nearly two years after suspending operations in the country.
In September 2022, Emirates announced the suspension of all its flights to and from Nigeria, citing the inability to repatriate funds from ticket sales in the country.
At the time, the airline said it had “tried every avenue to address our ongoing challenges in repatriating funds from Nigeria” and had made “considerable efforts to initiate dialogue with the relevant authorities” to find a solution, but there had been no progress.
However, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, has now revealed that a resolution has been reached. Keyamo said he has received a letter from Emirates thanking the Nigerian government, particularly President Muhammadu Buhari, for their efforts in resolving the issues.
“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,” Keyamo said during an appearance on the Arise Morning Show.
The minister added that while Emirates will announce the exact date for the resumption of flights, the airline is prepared to start operations in Nigeria again before June 2024.
The development is expected to be welcomed by Nigerian travellers who have been without Emirates’ services for the past two years. However, there are still some outstanding issues between Nigeria and the UAE, such as visa and work permit restrictions, that the two countries are reportedly still in discussions to resolve.
Alkasim Abdulkadir, the Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy to Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, confirmed that bilateral discussions between Nigeria and the UAE on these issues are ongoing, and a joint statement will be issued once the talks are completed.
