Emirates Airlines to Restart Flights to Nigeria on October 1

Emirates has officially announced via its website and X (formerly Twitter) account that it will resume services to Nigeria starting October 1, 2024. The airline will operate a daily service between Lagos and Dubai, providing Nigerian passengers with enhanced connectivity to Dubai and over 140 destinations worldwide. This marks a significant step in reestablishing robust air travel links between Nigeria and the UAE after a two-year suspension. The move reflects Emirates’ commitment to expanding its presence in Africa and supporting bilateral trade relations between the two nations.

Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer, expressed excitement about resuming services to Nigeria. He highlighted the popularity of the Lagos-Dubai route and thanked the Nigerian government for its support. Kazim said, “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 will serve 19 gateways in Africa with 157 flights per week from Dubai, extending its reach to over 130 regional points in Africa through partnerships with South African Airways, Airlink, Royal Air Maroc, Tunis Air, and others.

Nigeria, being a significant economic hub in Africa, has established strong trade relations with the UAE. The resumption of daily passenger flights will enhance these ties, with Emirates SkyCargo offering more than 300 tonnes of bellyhold cargo capacity in and out of Lagos each week. This capacity will support Nigerian businesses in exporting goods such as Kola Nuts, food and beverages, and urgent courier material to markets like the UAE, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Bahrain. Additionally, it will facilitate the import of vital goods such as pharmaceuticals and electronics from key markets.

We’re back Nigeria! We’ll be resuming services to Lagos from 1 October 2024, and we can’t wait to offer unrivalled connectivity to Dubai and beyond to over 140 cities. https://t.co/EXGK0g1CnA pic.twitter.com/0AWJpWbBah

— Emirates (@emirates) May 16, 2024

The Emirates Boeing 777-300ER serving Lagos will feature 8 first-class suites, 42 Business Class seats, and 304 seats in Economy Class. Passengers can enjoy regionally inspired multi-course menus, a wide selection of premium beverages, and over 6,500 channels of global entertainment, including 23 Nigerian movies, on Emirates’ award-winning inflight entertainment system, ice.

The announcement of resumption came after Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, received confirmation from Salem Saeed Al-Shamsi, the UAE Ambassador to Nigeria. Keyamo shared the update on his X (formerly Twitter) page, noting the significance of the partnership and the upcoming formal announcement by Emirates Airlines.

The resumption follows a two-year hiatus that began in October 2022 when Emirates suspended operations due to difficulties in repatriating $85 million in trapped funds. The suspension was part of a broader diplomatic row between Nigeria and the UAE, exacerbated by visa restrictions and longstanding issues related to the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA).

Despite recent diplomatic engagements, such as the September 2023 meeting between Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, visa restrictions remain a challenge. However, the resumption of Emirates flights marks a positive step towards restoring normalcy in the aviation relationship between the two countries.