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Two years after UAE-Nigeria spat, Emirates to resume flights 0ct 1

Two years after Emirates exited Nigeria over a face-off with the Nigerian government, the carrier will resume operations to the country on October 1, 2024.

Emirates will resume services to Nigeria from 1 October 2024, operating a daily service between Lagos and Dubai, offering customers more choices and connectivity from Nigeria’s largest city to Dubai.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to douse the tension and resolve the frosty relations between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) yielded some fruits as Emirates has concluded plans to resume flight operations to Nigeria 36 months after the carrier exited Nigeria.

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo last month while appearing on national television, stated that he had received a letter from the airline on the carrier’s return.

He clarified that the first announcement in October last year over the proposed resolution of the face-off between both nations was not fake news but ‘hasty’.

“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 are ready to return. They will announce the date because to restart a route, they have to get an aircraft for that route.”

The airline in a statement said on Thursday said the service will be operated using a Boeing 777-300ER. EK783 will depart Dubai at 0945hrs, arriving in Lagos at 1520hrs; the return flight EK784 will leave Lagos at 1730hrs and arrive in Dubai at 0510hrs the next day. Tickets can be booked now on emirates.com or via travel agents.

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.”

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.

With the resumption of daily passenger flights, the airline’s cargo arm, Emirates SkyCargo, will further bolster the trade relationship by offering more than 300 tonnes of belly-hold 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.

Emirates

The Emirates Boeing 777-300ER serving Lagos will operate with 8 first-class suites, 42 Business Class seats, and 304 seats in Economy Class. Offering the best experience in the sky, passengers can dine on regionally inspired multi-course menus developed by a team of award-winning chefs complemented by a wide selection of premium beverages. Customers can tune in to over 6,500 channels of global entertainment, including 23 Nigerian movies, in addition to series and other content on ice, Emirates’ award-winning inflight entertainment system.

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