New Airline Begins International Flights in Nigeria as XEJet Begins All Business Class Operations
- An Italian airline, Neos Airlines, has launched a direct flight from Milan to the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos
- The airline reportedly landed in Lagos last week with dignitaries from Nigeria and Italy
- The minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, said the move is essential for both countries
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A primary Italian carrier, Neos Airlines, has begun direct flight services from Milan to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
The airline, which landed at Lagos airport last week with dignitaries from both countries, promised to entrench safety and timelines in its operations.
More foreign airlines commence operations in Nigeria
The Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, expressed joy with the commencement of the flight.
He said the airline has joined the growing number of foreign airlines starting flight services to Nigeria in the past 18 months of Bola Tinubu's administration.
ThisDay reports that the Minister disclosed that the move would continue to support all foreign investments in the sector, stating that it would positively affect Nigeria.
New airline to boost job creation
According to the Keyamo, the new airline will boost job creation in Nigeria for Nigerians, while the aviation sector would contribute to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Keyamo said the development is another record of accomplishment regarding breaking barriers between Nigeria and Italy since the exit of Alitalia Air from Nigeria many years ago.
He stated that the direct flight from Milan to Lagos will ease connectivity from Nigeria to the European country.
Also, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yussuf Tuggar, described the airline’s direct flight to Nigeria as an official relaunch of the Nigeria-Italy Airlinks.
XEJet commences scheduled flight from Lagos-Abuja
The foreign affairs minister said that Nigeria had great businessmen and women in Italy, and the direct flight would boost Nigeria's exports to Italy and some other European countries.
The development comes as XEJet, a local airline, announced the beginning of its scheduled flight operations from Abuja to Lagos with a competitive fare for passengers.
The inaugural flight between Abuja and Lagos is scheduled for November 2, 2024.
Emirates lures Nigerians with transit visas
Also, Emirate Airlines, which relaunched its operations in Nigeria one month ago, has introduced free transit visas for Nigerian passengers travelling through Dubai.
In an email to its passengers, the airline said it offered a 48 or 96-hour UAE visa to its passengers buying tickets in November.
Nigerian airline acquires more aircraft
Legit.ng earlier reported that two additional Bombardier CRJ 900s arrived over the weekend and have joined Ibom Air's fleet.
Thanks to this addition, Ibom Air now has nine aircraft in total, including two Airbus A220-300s and seven CRJ 900s.
A shareholder loan is used to finance the outright purchase of the two CRJ 900s.
Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at Legit.ng
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Source: Legit.ng