The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo declared that Emirates Airline would return to operations in Nigeria by June 2024 at the latest.
This was revealed by Keyamo during his interview with newsmen.
According to the minister, President Bola Tinubu was instrumental in thawing the tense relations between the two nations.
The minister claims that the United Arab Emirates and the Nigerian government have worked out their differences, and the airline will soon reveal the date of its inaugural flight.
According to Keyamo, the UAE airline confirmed in writing that it was prepared to start operating again in Nigeria.
“The restart of Emirates flights is almost here. Emirates sent me a letter recently. Right now, the letter is on my phone. They are prepared to return having experienced everything. Because they need to get an aircraft for a route in order to begin it, they will make the date public, he explained.
Following the Dubai Airshow in November 2023, Keyamo declared that he had a conversation with Emirates Airlines executives about a potential restart.
According to him, the airline was addressing the minor issues and will make the precise date of the flights’ return public.
Keyamo said, “I am proclaiming to Nigerians for the first time that I have just lately received a letter from Emirates. I have the letter with me. I’ve sent you a tangible copy of my gratitude for everything we worked on. This was the showman, the President. It was he who insisted on it.
Because he traveled there and used his diplomatic connections to settle all the problems, he made my work easier. That’s why I said the most recent announcement was hurried rather than phony. When their next flight is scheduled, it will be announced. A letter verifying this has been received by us.
Emirates Airline halted its flight operations to Nigeria in October 2022 because it couldn’t repatriate funds held in the country.
The airline attributed the October suspension to the $85bn revenue trapped in Nigeria.
