Ekeomah Atuonwu
There are solid signs that the Middle Eastern airline, Emirates Airlines, would start operating again in Nigeria as soon as feasible.
The Dubai-based airline announced it would resume four-weekly flights to Nigeria in a notification emailed to travel agencies in Nigeria.
Just a few days prior, Emirates had made the decision to stop operating flights to Nigeria as of September 1, 2022, and it cited the inability to remit $85 million in revenue from ticket sales as the reason for the change.
The earlier statement read in part, “Emirates Airlines has tried every avenue to address our ongoing challenges in repatriating funds from Nigeria, and we have made considerable efforts to initiate dialogue with the relevant authorities for their urgent intervention to help find a viable solution.”
“Regrettably, there has been no progress. Therefore, Emirates has taken the difficult decision to suspend all flights to and from Nigeria, effective September 1, 2022, to limit further losses and impact on our operational costs that continue to accumulate in the market.
“We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to our customers, however the circumstances are beyond our control at this stage. We will be working to help impacted customers make alternative travel arrangements wherever possible.”
