Emirates Airlines has announced it will resume operations in Nigeria on October 1, 2024, after a two-year hiatus. This significant development was confirmed by Adnan Kazim, the airline’s Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer, who noted the company’s renewed commitment to the Nigerian market and the strategic importance of this route.
Kazim revealed that Emirates will operate a daily service between Lagos and Dubai, a route that has been eagerly anticipated by both leisure and business travelers.
“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 travelers to Dubai and onwards to our network of over 140 destinations,” he said.
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The daily flights will be conducted using a Boeing 777-300ER. Flight EK783 is scheduled to depart from Dubai at 0945hrs, arriving in Lagos at 1520hrs. The return flight, EK784, will leave Lagos at 1730hrs, arriving in Dubai at 0510hrs the following day. Tickets are currently available for booking on emirates.com or through travel agents.
The Hiatus and the Resolution
Emirates Airlines suspended its flights to Nigeria in October 2022 due to difficulties in repatriating funds held in the country, amounting to $85 million. This financial impasse, along with other diplomatic issues involving Nigeria and the UAE, led to the halting of services, straining the relationship between the airline and Nigerian authorities. However, recent diplomatic efforts have successfully resolved these issues, paving the way for the resumption of flights.
Kazim highlighted that the resumption of flights to Nigeria is part of a broader expansion of Emirates’ network across Africa. The airline now operates to 19 destinations on the continent, providing a total of 157 weekly flights departing from Dubai.
Additionally, Emirates’ network extends to an additional 130 regional locations across Africa through codeshare and interline partnerships with airlines such as South African Airways, Airlink, Royal Air Maroc, and Tunis Air.
“We thank the Nigerian government for their partnership and support in re-establishing this route and we look forward to welcoming passengers back onboard,” Kazim expressed, acknowledging the cooperative efforts that facilitated this development.
The successful resolution of the impasse and the return of Emirates flights can be attributed to significant diplomatic efforts. In April, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, said that the Nigerian government had been actively working with Emirates Airline to facilitate the resumption of services.
Keyamo noted that President Bola Tinubu played a pivotal role in resolving the frosty relations between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates.
“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,” the minister said.
Looking Forward
The resumption of Emirates flights to Nigeria marks a significant milestone in the airline’s operations and its relationship with Nigeria. It is expected to enhance connectivity, facilitate business and leisure travel, and contribute positively to the economies of both Nigeria and the UAE.
With the support of strategic partnerships and a robust network expansion plan, Emirates is poised to offer enhanced travel options and connectivity through Dubai to passengers from Nigerian cities.
Stakeholders in the aviation industry have noted the strategic importance of the partnership between Nigeria and the UAE, which enhances connectivity and offers more travel options to Emirates customers around the world.
The return of Emirates flights is a welcome development for travelers and stakeholders alike. It is therefore hoped that the challenges – mainly failure to repatriate earnings, which forced the airline to suspend operation, will not resurface.
Singapore Airlines is joining Emirates in paying employees a sizeable bonus after reporting a record annual profit, Bloomberg reports, citing an anonymous source. The payout by the city-state carrier equates to nearly eight months of salary. Emirates is awarding its staff a 20-week bonus, Reuters reported days earlier, citing an internal email. The airlines are sharing profits amid strong, sustained demand for international travel, but also high costs and economic and geopolitical uncertainty. Both airlines paid employees similar bonuses last year, as travel boomed coming out of the coronavirus pandemic.