The Middle East’s largest airline, Emirates Airlines, announced that it would resume operations in Nigeria on October 1, 2024, two years after it had ceased.
This announcement was published on the airline’s news website, Newsroom Emirates.
According to the airline, “Emirates will resume services to Nigeria on October 1, 2024, providing consumers with more choice and connection from Nigeria’s largest metropolis to, and through, Dubai, with a daily service between Lagos and Dubai.
A Boeing 777-300ER will be used to operate the service. Flight EK783 will leave Dubai at 09:45 and arrive in Lagos at 15:20; flight EK784 will depart Lagos at 17:30 and arrive in Dubai at 05:10 the following day. You can now purchase tickets on Emirates.com or via travel agents.
“We are excited to resume our services to Nigeria,” stated Adnan Kazim, Chief Commercial Officer and Deputy President of Emirates. Customers in Nigeria have historically favored the Lagos-Dubai service, and our goal is to re-connect leisure and business travelers to Dubai and beyond to our network of more than 140 destinations. We appreciate the Nigerian government’s cooperation and support in getting this route back up and running, and we can’t wait to see more passengers on board.
With the return of operations to Nigeria, Emirates now operates 157 weekly flights from Dubai to 19 African gateways. Through codeshare and interline agreements with South African Airways, Airlink, Royal Air Maroc, and Tunis Air, among others, Emirates can reach an additional 130 regional points in Africa.
Nigeria, a significant economic center in Africa, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have established robust bilateral trade ties over time, with Lagos serving as the nation’s commercial capital. Emirates SkyCargo, the airline’s cargo division, will strengthen the commercial partnership by providing more than 300 tonnes of belly-hold cargo capacity into and out of Lagos each week as passenger flights resume daily.
Emirates SkyCargo will assist Nigerian companies by facilitating the export of their goods into major markets, including the UAE, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Bahrain, through its cutting-edge base in Dubai. Notably, the company will supply important commodities like food and drink, urgent courier material, and Kola nuts.
In addition, Emirates SkyCargo will import general cargo from important markets, including the UAE, India, and Hong Kong, as well as necessities like electronics and pharmaceuticals. These commodities will be transported swiftly, effectively, and dependably through the airline’s multi-vertical specialized product portfolio, maintaining seamless trade.
There will be eight first-class suites, forty-two business class seats, and thirty-four economy class seats on the Emirates Boeing 777-300ER that will fly to Lagos.
On October 29, 2022, Emirates announced that it was ceasing operations in Nigeria indefinitely. The airline cited financial constraints as well as the government’s unwillingness to provide dollars so that international carriers could repatriate their earnings.
