The Federal Government has hinted that the UAE carrier Emirates plans to start operating flights to Nigeria in June of this year.
This occurs nearly two years after the airline, among other reasons, halted flights to Nigeria due to problems with trapped funds.
Emirates announced on September 1, 2022, that it would no longer be operating flights from Nigeria due to its inability to repatriate funds.
“Emirates has tried every avenue to address our ongoing challenges in repatriating funds from Nigeria, and we have made considerable efforts to initiate dialogue with the relevant authorities for their urgent intervention to help find a viable solution.
“Regrettably there has been no progress. Therefore, Emirates has taken the difficult decision to suspend all flights to and from Nigeria, effective 1 September 2022, to limit further losses and impact on our operational costs that continue to accumulate in the market,” the airline had said.
However, Mr. Festus Keyamo, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, claims that conditions are improving for the flights to resume.
Keyamo stated, “The resumption of Emirates flights is almost happening,” during his Monday appearance on the Arise Morning Show. Emirates sent me a letter recently. Right now, the letter is on my phone. They are prepared to return having experienced everything. Since they need to get an aircraft for a route in order to restart it, they will make the date public.
“I am announcing to Nigerians for the first time; that I just received a letter from Emirates now. The letter is with me. I have a hard copy thanking you for all the efforts we made. Mr. President was the showman here. He was the one who pushed for it. He made my job easy because he went there, and had a diplomatic shuttle to resolve all the issues. That was why I said the last announcement was hasty and not fake news. They will announce the date for their next flight. We have received a letter confirming that all the issues have been resolved and prepared to start coming back. It may be before June.”
Even though many Nigerians are reportedly left stranded due to the development, there are still unresolved issues regarding the ban on visas and the ban on work permits between the two countries.
Discussions to resolve issues with the UAE have advanced, according to Alkasim Abdulkadir, Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy to Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, in an interview with Daily Trust.
“Bilateral discussions between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on visa and flights restrictions are still ongoing. When completed, a joint statement will be issued via official channels,” he said.
