By Joke Kujenya, JKNMedia Reporter
EMIRATES AIRLINES announced on Thursday the resumption of its services to Nigeria, effective October 1, 2024, coinciding with Nigeria’s Independence Day anniversary. The airline will use its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to operate a daily service between Lagos and Dubai.
The suspension of Emirates’ Dubai-Lagos flights in 2022 was due to the airline’s inability to repatriate trapped funds in Nigeria amid a diplomatic dispute between the two countries. The resumption marks the end of a prolonged suspension that impacted many travelers and businesses.
In a statement, Emirates, headquartered in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), expressed gratitude to the Nigerian Government for its support in re-establishing the route. 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.”
The announcement was also shared via the airline’s official X handle, with a message stating, “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.”
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, confirmed the development through his X handle. This followed a meeting with the United Arab Emirates Ambassador to Nigeria, Salem Saeed Al-Shamsi, at the UAE Embassy in Abuja.
