Mr. Festus Keyamo (SAN), the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, has revealed that Emirates Airline plans to restart flights to Nigeria before June.
According to the minister, all the necessary things have been put in place, as he has received a letter from the airline signaling their intention to resume flights to Nigeria.
Keyamo revealed that their flight operations to Nigeria might start before June 2024 in an interview on Arise Television that Persecondnews monitored on Monday.
He said the airline’s return is a direct result of diplomatic engagements by President Bola Tinubu during his visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after communication between Nigeria and the country broke down.
Keyamo said: “Emirates flight resumption is almost happening. I just received a letter from Emirates. The letter is on my phone now. They have gone through all the gamut, and they are ready to come back. They will announce the date because, to restart a route, they must get an aircraft for that route.
“I am announcing to Nigerians for the first time; that I just received a letter from Emirates now. The letter is with me on my phone. I also have a hard copy. Mr. President was the showman here. He was the one who pushed for it. He made my job easy because he went there and had a diplomatic shuttle to resolve all the issues.
“That was why I said the last announcement was hasty news and not fake news. They will announce the date for their next flight. We have received a letter confirming that all the issues have been resolved and that we are prepared to start coming back. It may be before June.”
Persecondnews recalls that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had, in October 2022, barred nationals of 20 African countries, including Nigeria, from entering its capital city, Dubai, as well as suspended flights to Nigeria.
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