May 16, (THEWILL) – Emirates Airlines has announced plans to resume flight operations to Nigeria on October 1, 2024.
THEWILL had reported that the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo (SAN), on Wednesday, said that Emirates will formally announce the resumption of flights to Nigeria.
Keyamo disclosed this after a meeting with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ambassador to Nigeria, Salem Saeed Al-Shamsi, at the UAE Embassy in Abuja.
In a formal announcement on Thursday, the airline said from October 1, 2024, it will operate a daily service between Lagos and Dubai, offering customers more choice and connectivity from Nigeria’s largest city to, and through, Dubai.
It added that the service will be operated using a Boeing 777-300ER.
“EK783 will depart Dubai at 0945hrs, arriving in Lagos at 1520hrs; the return flight EK784 will leave Lagos at 1730hrs and arrive in Dubai at 0510hrs the next day. Tickets can be booked now on emirates.com or via travel agents.
“Emirates SkyCargo will support Nigerian businesses by exporting their goods via its state-of-the-art hub in Dubai, into key markets such as the UAE, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Bahrain, among others with key anticipated commodities such as Kola Nuts, food and beverages, and urgent courier material.
“Emirates SkyCargo will also import vital goods such as pharmaceuticals and electronics as well as general cargo from key markets such as the UAE, India and Hong Kong. Keeping trade flowing seamlessly, these goods will be transported quickly, efficiently, and reliably via the airline’s multi-vertical specialised product portfolio.
“The Emirates Boeing 777-300ER serving Lagos will operate with 8 First Class suites, 42 Business Class seats, and 304 seats in Economy Class. Offering the best experience in the sky, passengers can dine on regionally inspired multi-course menus developed by a team of award-winning chefs complemented by a wide selection of premium beverages. Customers can tune in to over 6,500 channels of global entertainment, including 23 Nigerian movies, in addition to series and other content on ice, Emirates’ award-winning inflight entertainment system,” Emirates said.
Confirming the resumption of flight operations, Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer, said, “We are excited to resume our services to Nigeria. The Lagos-Dubai service has traditionally been popular with customers in Nigeria and we hope to reconnect leisure and business travellers to Dubai and onwards to our network of over 140 destinations.
“We thank the Nigerian government for their partnership and support in re-establishing this route and we look forward to welcoming passengers back onboard.”
The UAE imposed a blanket visa ban on Nigerians in October 2022, while Emirates Airlines suspended flight operations to Nigeria in November of the same year.
