Victor EzejaEmirates Airlines has announced that it would resume flight services to Nigeria, starting with Lagos to Dubai from October 1, 2024.
This was confirmed in a statement posted on the Emirates Media Centre website managed by the airline.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelIt will be a daily flight service from Lagos to Dubai to be operated using a Boeing 777-300ER.
The airline stopped flight services to Nigeria on October 29, 2022. It had claimed that it was because of its trapped funds and there was no attempt by the government to make dollars available to the foreign airlines to repatriate their revenues.
There was also a diplomatic row between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that led to denial of visas to Nigerians traveling to the Middle East country.
The airline’s statement said: “Emirates will resume services to Nigeria from 1 October 2024, operating a daily service between Lagos and Dubai, and offering customers more choice and connectivity from Nigeria’s largest city to, and through, Dubai.
“The service will be operated using a Boeing 777-300ER. EK783 will depart Dubai at 0945hrs, arriving in Lagos at 15:20hrs; the return flight EK784 will leave Lagos at 17:30hrs and arrives in Dubai at 05:10hrs the next day. Tickets can be booked now on emirates.com or via travel agents.”
Emirates’ Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer said the management of the airline is excited to resume their flight services to Nigeria and thanked the Nigerian government for their partnership and support in ensuring that the route was reestablished.
READ ALSO: Emirates To Resume Operations In Nigeria- Keyamo
He said: “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.
”With the resumption of operations to Nigeria, Emirates operates to 19 gateways in Africa with 157 flights per week from Dubai, with further reach to an additional 130 regional points in Africa through its codeshare and interline partnerships with South African Airways, Airlink, Royal Air Maroc, Tunis Air, among others.
“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.”
Emirates Cargo To Increase Carrying Capacity to boost Crossborder Trades
The airline said that with the resumption of daily passenger flights, to Nigeria, its 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 further announced that its Boeing 777-300ER serving Lagos will operate with 8 First Class suites, 42 Business Class seats, and 304 seats in Economy Class.
The Emirates’ announcement of flight resumption comes hours after Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, said the airline would sound announce when it would resume operation to the country.
Keyamo gave the hint in a post on his official X handle after a working visit to the Ambassador of UAE to Nigeria, His Excellency, Salem Saeed Al-Shamsi at the UAE Embassy in Abuja. He had said the airline gave him a definite date but it would announce it formally.
With the resumption of Emirates flights to Nigeria it is expected that it would also lead to resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries and subsequently, Nigerians can be granted visas to travel to the Middle east country.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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