Emirates Suspends Flights to Nigeria

Chinedu Eze

In reaction to federal government’s withdrawal of its flight frequencies, except one, to Nigeria, Emirates Airlines has announced that it has suspended operations to the country till further notice.

Emirates on its website Friday announced that it would suspend its flights to Nigeria from December 13, 2021 until two countries reach amicable resolution on the matter.

The statement said, “With the recently imposed directive limiting Emirates to operate one flight per week to Nigeria via Abuja, Emirates will be suspending its flights between Nigeria and Dubai from 13 December 2021, until the UAE and Nigerian authorities work on a solution to the ongoing issue.

“The last flights to operate on 12 December 2021are EK 783/784 to/from Lagos and EK 785/786 to/from Abuja
“Customers holding tickets with the final destinations Lagos and Abuja will not be accepted at the point of origin,” it stated.

The airline also said that affected customers do not need to call Emirates immediately for rebooking, adding that customers can simply hold on to their Emirates ticket and when flights resume, get in touch with their travel agent or booking office to make new travel plans and expressed regret this may have caused its customers in Nigeria.

“Emirates is committed to its operations in Nigeria, and we stand ready to reinstate services once restrictions are lifted by the Nigerian authorities, ensuring travellers have more choice and access to trade and tourism opportunities in Dubai, and beyond to our network of over 120 destinations,” the airline added.
However, the Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Musa Nuhu explained to aviation correspondents in Lagos Friday that government decided to respond to the way United Arab Emirates (UAE) treated Nigerian airline, Air Peace, saying that it is the responsibility of government to protect Nigerian businesses.

UAE reduced Air Peace request for three times weekly flight to one, claiming it did not have enough slots for the airline.

Nuhu said that NCAA withdrew the approval to Emirates following the refusal of the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) of UAE to grant equal rights to the sole Nigerian carrier, Air Peace, flying to Dubai via Sharjah.

Nuhu explained that the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, had graciously granted Emirates Airlines 21 frequencies weekly to two major airports in Nigeria; Lagos, 14 and Abuja, seven.

He regretted that despite this approval, the GCAA refused to grant Air Peace three weekly frequencies to Sharjah, which the airline requested for, but rather approved just one frequency weekly.

According to him, the GCAA had attributed its refusal to grant the three frequencies to the airline to inadequate slots in Sharjah airport, stressing that the government would continue to protect Nigeria’s businesses.

“The Nigerian Government was gracious to grant Emirates Airlines 21 frequencies it requested for. The airline wants to operate 14 weekly flights to Lagos and another seven weekly to Abuja airports.

“However, Air Peace only requested for three weekly flights to Sharjah, not even Dubai airport, but the CAA refused the airline. The CAA only approved one weekly frequency to the airline. The only excuse they gave was that they don’t have enough slots. Where is the justice in this? That is capital flight out of Nigeria. Nigeria should protect its own.”

NCAA in a statement signed by the Director General also recalled that following the lifting of the ban on Emirates Airline passenger flights to Nigeria by the Government, the UAE based airline applied to Federal Ministry of Aviation for approval of its Winter Flight Schedule.

The requested schedule consisted of twenty-one (21) weekly passenger flight frequ…