Emirates Airlines has announced that it will resume operations in Nigeria on October 1, 2024.
The airline announced this in a post on its official X page on Thursday, May 16.
Emirates wrote: “We’re back, Nigeria! We’ll be resuming services to Lagos from 1 October 2024, and we can’t wait to offer unrivalled connectivity to Dubai and beyond to over 140 cities.”
In 2022, Emirates Airlines halted its flights from Dubai to Lagos due to its incapacity to return cash that was embezzled in Nigeria during the height of the diplomatic spat between the two nations.
There has long been a history of flight restrictions between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Nigeria due to outstanding concerns pertaining to the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA). Later, when diplomatic tensions between Nigeria and the UAE—a popular destination for Nigerian visitors and migrants—rose, visa restrictions were revealed.
To iron out the kinks in their diplomatic ties, President Bola Tinubu met with President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates in September 2023 in Abu Dhabi.
Festus Keyamo, Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, has stated that Emirates Airlines has provided a specific date for when it will start operating flights to Nigerian airports again.
The UAE hasn’t, however, formally disclosed its most recent ruling about the ban on visas for Nigerian tourists.
