Emirates Airlines has announced the resumption of its services to Nigeria starting from October 1, 2024, with a daily service between Lagos and Dubai.
The decision comes after a hiatus of over two years, during which the airline suspended flights to Nigeria due to challenges in repatriating funds from ticket sales in the country.
At the time of the suspension, Emirates was owed over $85 million, leading to disruptions in air travel between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with the UAE authorities imposing a visa ban on Nigerians.
However, following negotiations between the Nigerian government led by President Bola Tinubu and the UAE authorities, along with Emirates Airlines, a resolution was reached, leading to the announcement of the flight resumption.
The service, operated using a Boeing 777-300ER, will provide daily connectivity between Lagos and Dubai.
The outbound flight, EK783, will depart Dubai at 09:45hrs and arrive in Lagos at 15:20hrs, while the return flight, EK784, will leave Lagos at 17:30hrs and land in Dubai at 05:10hrs the next day.
Emirates Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer, Adnan Kazim, expressed excitement about the resumption, stating, “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 travelers to Dubai and onwards to our network of over 140 destinations.”
He also thanked the Nigerian government for their partnership and support in re-establishing the route and expressed anticipation in welcoming passengers back onboard.
