Emirates Airlines Resumes Flights to Nigeria After 2 Years, Air Peace to Commence Dubai Operations
- Emirates Airlines plane landed in Lagos on October 1 as it resumes operations in Nigeria after two years
- Flight EK 783, which landed at the old terminal of the MMIA at about 3.32 pm, arrived with several empty seats on the Boeing 777-300ER.
- The airline is expected to operate daily flights using Boeing 777-300ER to ferry passengers in and out of Nigeria
Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.
Emirate Airlines, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) carrier, flight touched down at Murtala Muhammad International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, two years after it ceased operations in Nigeria due to diplomatic row and trapped forex.
Flight EK 783, which landed at the old terminal of the MMIA at about 3:32 pm, arrived with several empty seats on a Boeing 777-300ER.
Source: Getty Images
Air Peace to begin daily flights to Dubai
The Emirates Airlines’ landing was low-key due to the October 1 nationwide protests.
With the Emirate's resumption of operations in Nigeria, the airline is expected to service the Lagos-Dubai routes daily, offering customers more choices and connectivity from Lagos to and from Dubai.
Legit.ng earlier reported that the Nigerian government secured reciprocal rights for Nigerian airlines to begin operating the Dubai routes.
The development means that Nigeria’s largest carrier, Air Peace, which operated the route before, can now resume flight operations to the oil-rich country.
According to reports, Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, and UAE officials agreed on a new Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) between the two countries.
Emirates to operate daily flights in Nigeria
Emirates Airlines said it would operate its service to Nigeria using Boing 777-300ER. The EK783 would depart Dubai at 0945 and arrive in Lagos at 1520 hrs.
The return flight on EK784 would leave Lagos at 1730hrs and arrive in Dubai at 0510hrs the next day.
ThisDay reports that Emirates SkyCargo, the cargo arm of Emirates, will boost the trade relationship by offering more than 300 tonnes of belly-hold cargo capacity in and out of Lagos weekly.
The airline will also operate cargo flights
Per the airline, Emirates SkyCargo would support Nigerian businesses by exporting goods via its hub in Dubai into critical markets such as UAE, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Bahrain, with expected commodities such as kola nuts, food and beverages, and other courier materials.
The cargo company will also import vital goods such as pharmaceuticals, electronics, and general cargo from key markets such as the UAE, India, and Hong Kong.
The airline’s Boing 777-300ER will operate eight first-class, 42 Business Class, and 304 Economy Class seats.
The airline ceased operations in Nigeria in October 2022, citing trapped funds and the Nigerian government's failure to provide FX to foreign carriers for repatriation to their home countries.
Daily Trust reports that Nigerian-born pilot Capt. Mohammed Madugu was in the cockpit for Emirates as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) flag carrier touched down in Nigeria after over two years of exiting the route.
Madugu posted a video of his landing at the MMIA on Tuesday with the caption on his X page
Emirates Airlines crashes ticket fares
Legit.ng previously reported that Emirates Airlines is luring Nigerian passengers with cheap USD airfares, which has attracted mixed reactions from aviation analysts and passengers.
Findings show that as of Monday, August 26, 2024, all fare inventories on Emirates Airlines’ website were competitive but priced in dollars.
The airline had fixed October 1, 2024, as the date to resume daily flights between Lagos and Dubai, offering more choice and connectivity from the Nigerian city to and from Dubai.
Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at Legit.ng
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