The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, suggested that Dubai’s Emirates Airlines may start flying to Nigeria again before June 2024.
Keyamo made this statement on Monday in response to Emirates Airlines suspending flights to Nigeria in October 2022.
During an interview on Arise Television’s The Morning Show on Monday, Keyamo disagreed with the anchor’s statement that the federal government’s announcement in October 2023 about flights resuming between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was false, as flights between the two countries have not yet started.
He clarified that the news was not fake but premature, and that flights between Nigeria and the UAE, including Emirates Airlines returning to Nigeria, are expected to resume soon, possibly before June.
The issues that caused Emirates Airlines to stop operating in Nigeria have been resolved, and they are ready to start operating in Nigeria again.
“It was not a fake news; it was a hasty news.
“It is almost happening.
“I just received a letter from Emirates thanking us for going through all the gamut and that they are ready to come back.
“They will announce the date.
“It may be before June.
It will be definitely before the summer,” Keyamo clarified.
The Aviation Minister explained that even though the federal government had previously announced that flights between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would resume, Emirates Airlines may start operating in Nigeria before June 2024 due to last-minute arrangements.
Regarding the repatriation of funds that caused some foreign airlines to stop operating in Nigeria, Keyamo clarified that all funds held by airlines under the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have been released.
He also mentioned that the remaining funds held by airlines in Nigeria are in commercial banks, which do not have the capacity to access foreign exchange and transfer the funds to the airlines.
