Much Ado about Nigeria-Brazil Direct Flight

The plan by Nigeria and Brazil to re-establish direct flight between the two countries, after it was stopped several years ago for obvious reasons, has continued to raise dust, as some stakeholders warn against such plan, writes Chinedu Eze

On Monday, the Ministry of Aviation released a statement about the plan by Nigeria and Brazil to re-establish direct flight between the two countries.

The last time Nigeria and Brazil connected directly by flight was during the time Brazil owned airline, Varig operated to Lagos, but since then most Nigerians that travelled to Brazil, had connected flights through other countries, especially Addis Ababa and the US.

According to Simple Flying, Varig was once a household name in South American aviation – it was the largest Boeing 747 operator in the region and connected Brazil to destinations as far away as Tokyo (NRT), Maputo (MPM), and Hong Kong (HKG) and it operated for about 79 years and stopped operation in 2006.

Varig in its history wrote about how it connected African destinations and why it had to withdraw from the routes and its eventual demise.

The big news of the 1970s were about flights to Africa, where the first destination was Johannesburg, South Africa, and Luanda, Angola, in 1970. In 1977, VARIG also started flights to Lagos, Nigeria, and to Cape Town, South Africa.

However, the 90’s also marked the beginning of VARIG’s network reduction. The company began to cut unprofitable routes. In Latin America, Panama, San José, Quito, Quayaquil, Paramaribo, Cayenne and Port of Spain routes were canceled. In Africa, virtually all routes were canceled. The route to Maputo had already been canceled in 1987. The route to Abidjan was canceled in 1991 and until 1994 Luanda, Lagos and Cape Town were also canceled, leaving only Johannesburg. In North America, the route to Montreal was canceled in 1989. The route to Toronto lasted until 1994, marking the end of flights operated by VARIG in Canada. In Europe, VARIG canceled flights to Barcelona in 1994.

However, some stakeholders believe that hope will rise again when Nigeria and Brazil re-establish the direct flight connection soon, while others have different opinions about it.

The statement issued on Monday and signed by the Special Adviser, Media and Communications to the Honourable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace, Tunde Moshood, indicated that the two countries may designate airlines to operate the route.

It also indicated that Nigeria has commenced high-level discussions with the Brazilian Ambassador to Nigeria, Carlos Garcete, to activate the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) and initiate direct flights between Nigeria and Brazil.

According to the statement, “This strategic meeting follows the MoU signed between the two nations in 2018, aimed at boosting air connectivity and economic cooperation.”

The Ministry said that during the discussions, both envoys emphasized the need for new BASA arrangements to reflect current realities in the aviation world.

“This meeting stems from the mutual interests shared by President Tinubu and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during a meeting in Addis Ababa in February 2024, where they agreed to reinitiate the BASA arrangements, recognising the cultural and economic ties between Nigeria and Brazil,” the statement further said.

Speaking on the importance of the direct flights, Ambassador Garcete highlighted the potential for immediate commencement of flight services, noting that both nations could facilitate four to five flights per week.

“The introduction of direct flights will spark significant economic growth between our countries,” he stated, noting the need to finalize the Open Skies Agreement to fully enable the proposed flights.

The statement said that to ensure the smooth finalization of the initiative, both countries agreed to set up committees to draft and finalize a new BASA arrangements. The Ambassador also extended an invitation to the Minister to visit Brazil for the formal signing of the agreement, marking a significant milestone in Nigeria-Brazil relations.

“Two Nigerian airlines, Air Peace and Caverton, have been designated to operate on this route, further underscoring the strategic partnership between the two nations. With the operationalization of this agreement, the Nigerian aviation industry is set for enhanced growth and expanded international reach. The Honourable Minister reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to advancing bilateral aviation agreements that promote economic development and connectivity,” the statement also stated.

Past Efforts to Connect the Route

There had been efforts made in the past to kick off direct flight between Nigeria and Brazil. The most recent was by Arik Air, which in 2013 started negotiations to start flights between Lagos and Sao Paulo.

That was 19 years after the Brazilian national carrier; Varig Air stopped direct flights into the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

Arik Air, the Nigerian carrier designated on the route then had commenced the process that would enable it start direct flights into São Paulo, the Brazilian commercial nerve centre and has applied for traffic rights and slot allocation from the Brazilian National Civil Aviation Agency (Agency National De Aviacao Civil) and the Department of Air Transport.

The then Nigeria’s ambassador to Brazil, Vincent Okonedion, had said the commencement of direct flights into Brazil would open up a window of investment opportunities for Nigeria and Brazil in several areas, including agriculture, aviation, power, education and culture.

“Brazil is the hub of the economies of South America, just as Nigeria is the hub of the economies in West and Central Africa. Both countries have always had that desire to see the two economies of West Africa and South America linked by direct flights.

“Today, Brazil is the sixth largest economy in the world and Nigeria is the fastest growing economy in Africa and the two countries are able to draw all the economies in their respective regions. So once you have a direct flight, this flight is not only connecting the two countries but the two regions, that is in Nigeria, the whole of West Africa and in Brazil, the whole of South America,” Okonedion said.

But eventually, the Nigerian carrier, did not continue with the push to operate the route, and Brazilian low-cost airline, Gol, which was supposed to reciprocate Arik Air, did not show any inclination to operate to either Lagos or Abuja. In fact, at that time, Gol was only operating one international destination; all other of its flights were local.

Viability and Security

Former Vice President, Government, International Affairs and Business Development of Arik Air, Lanre Bamgbose, who spoke to THISDAY, said:  “The last schedule operator of the BASA on the Nigeria/Brazil route was Varig. However, I recall the federal government designation of Arik Air on that route sometime before 2010. What I know is Arik Air made spirited efforts to develop that route, which due to inactivity had assumed a certain level of sterility. We pursued the opportunity with the support of the Ministry, Nigeria’s Ambassador to Brazil, Vincent Okonedion. We invested substantially in a lot of route development initiatives, but we tarried on commencement due to some reasons. I am sure the Honorable Minister will see to it that the airlines designated on that route now will take advantage of the immense opportunities both on the bilateral and multilateral fronts  to launch the services on that route.”

THISDAY gathered that the reason why Arik Air stepped down its plans to operate the route was because after market research the airline found that the route then would not have sustainable passenger traffic that would make the route profitable. The route was also known as high drug route, which draws the attention of law enforcement agencies all over the world to monitor the route. In fact, a journalist narrated his experience of how he was forced to go and stool when he travelled to Brazil with a well-known African airline. On arrival at its hub, the journalist and his colleagues were made to relief themselves and pick sample from their stool.

“But because I did not eat I couldn’t force out anything. The security people there were stern and insistent but somehow we were able to convince them we were journalists and they allowed us to continue with the passenger processing; otherwise, we would have missed our flight,” he told THISDAY.

The Founder and Managing Director of Travel Lab Nigeria Limited, Mrs. Shalom Asuquo, spoke to THISDAY and explained why direct flight between Nigeria and Brazil may not be profitable.  She said that with about 90, 000 Nigerians living in Brazil, Nigeria does not have high Diaspora population compared to Italy, US, Canada, UK, Germany and other countries and this could be evaluated by the amount of remittances from Brazil.

She also looked at it from the point of the economic resourcefulness of the Nigerians that live in Brazil, noting that they may not have such financial capacity to maintain robust passenger traffic on the route. There is a somewhat pilgrimage of Orisha worshippers who are Brazilians and who travel to Nigeria from time to time, but she noted that such movement cannot sustain acceptable passenger movement on the route.

“We do not have enough Diaspora population in Brazil to justify investing in the route. What are the economic benefits of those Nigerians there? You have to check the quality of the people. Are they the type that can afford travelling regularly to their mother land? By the end of October, an airline will connect flight between Lagos and Milan, Italy because it is a lucrative market. We have Edo people who live in Italy and we also have Igbo people who are doing business in Italy. What is the business that is going on in Brazil between Nigerians and Brazil?

“Then there is this issue of drugs. If you go there you will be subjected to all kinds of scrutiny and the problem is that they will leave their indigenes and scrutinize foreigners to the level of embarrassment; so, I cannot recommend it as choice destination because I do not see it as a profitable route,” she said.

However, Brazil and Nigeria maintain a traditional and diversified relationship, with a strong Nigerian influence on Brazilian cultural and social formation. Both nations are members of the Group of 77 and the United Nations. There is also cultural exchange and, as earlier stated, Brazilians practice the worship of Yoruba gods, like Orisha and others. Every year, some Brazilians visit Nigeria in what could be termed religious pilgrimage.

But flight operation is a business, which means that after the investment in a particular route, it must be justified by the profitability. If the market is not there, no airline will be prompted to start service between the two nations.