Abuja, Oct. 3, 2024 – The return of Emirates to Nigeria will open more international destinations to local airliners.
Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, said this on Wednesday after arriving in Lagos aboard an Emirates aircraft from UAE.
He assured that the Emirates Airline had returned to stay in Nigeria after two years of absence.
Emirates suspended its flight operations to Nigeria in November 2022 due to its failure to repatriate over $85 million revenue trapped in Nigeria.
Keyamo said the new Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) was to secure the route for local operators.
He said local carriers now have the opportunity to fly into any destination in the UAE
“With this, we have more competition on different international routes now. That is what it’s all about, to ensure a healthy competition.
“A healthy competition leads to competitive pricing for the benefit of the Nigerian people.
“But you also know that why we fought for this, is that Dubai in particular, is a major hub of the world, it links virtually every country.
“For our airlines too, I can tell you that we also secured some kind of code sharing agreement. We told them that if you want to code share, our airlines will have the right of first refusal.”
Keyamo applauded President Bola Tinubu for his support during the agreement and return of the airline, assuring that the relationship between the two countries been restored.
“The relationship went downhill with visa suspension and suspension of their flights for Nigerians, it was especially damaging, because we know that Nigerians have a lot of investments in the UAE.
“They have a lot of interest and investments there so, eventually it was not an adventure in self-glorification, it was actually a fight for the people of Nigeria, especially.
“We signed a new BASA defining our relationship altogether, again making it more healthy, more open and for the benefits especially of the Nigerian people,” Keyamo said. (GBN)
