BREAKING: #Emirates Airlines Restores Flight Operations Back To Nigeria—Emirates Airlines on Wednesday announced that it has reinstated its flight operations to Lagos, Nigeria.
The airline in a message sent to customers and quoted by TheCable said flights would resume on September 11, 2022.
This comes almost a week after the Nigerian government released $265 million to foreign airlines in the country to settle outstanding ticket sales which had pushed the airline to announce the suspension of its flights.
Emirates said, “We are pleased to inform you that effective from 11th September 2022, we will reinstate operations of our flights.
“Inbound flights from Dubai to Lagos (EK783) and outbound flights from Lagos to Dubai (EK784) will recommence from Sunday 11th September 2022.
“Lagos flights after 30th September, 2022 will be advised in due course.”
Emirates Airlines had announced the suspension of its flights to Nigeria from September 1 this year.
The proposed suspension of flights to Nigeria is connected to its failure to repatriate its trapped ticket sales fund in the West African country back to its home country in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Emirates also in December 2021 announced an indefinite suspension of its flights to Nigeria as a retaliatory action over Nigeria’s reduction of its flights to UAE due to a diplomatic row that was going on between the two countries.
At least $600 million belonging to over 20 foreign airlines had been blocked in Nigeria since the beginning of the year.
And some weeks ago, Emirates said that out of these funds, it had about $85 million in Nigeria.
The airline recently cut its 11 weekly frequencies into Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos to seven, and in a statement by its media consultant in Nigeria, the airline alleged that all efforts to repatriate the funds had been futile. It said it was compelled to suspend all flights into the country.
It had said, “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 September 1, 2022, to limit further losses and impact on our operational costs that continue to accumulate in the market.”
“Should there be any positive developments in the coming days regarding Emirates’ blocked funds in Nigeria, we will of course re-evaluate our decision,” the airline had added.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) had described the blockage of $464 million in repatriation money for basically foreign airline companies in July by the Nigerian Government as disappointing.
The group warned that if the money was not repatriated to the companies concerned, the Nigerian economy would suffer.
