Emirates Suspends Air Flights To Nigeria
Category: Nigeria News
There are indications that the failure of Emirates Airlines to repatriate its
trapped ticket sales fund in Nigeria back to its home country in the United
Arab Emirates (UAE) may have led to the carrier’s decision to stop all flights
in and out of the country.
The airline in a statement on Thursday morning said that it would suspend
flights from Nigeria effective September 1, 2022.
At least, $600
million of over 20 foreign airlines has been blocked in Nigeria since the
beginning of the year.
READ: FG Bans Emirate Airlines For Refusing to Fly Passengers Out of Nigeria
Emirates had about two weeks ago said that
out of these funds, it had about $85 million in Nigeria.
The airline
had on Monday cut its 11 weekly frequencies into Lagos Airport to just seven.
A
statement by the media consultant to the airline in Nigeria alleged that all
efforts to repatriate the funds had proved abortive and it was compelled to take
the decision of suspending all flights into the country.
READ: Patience Jonathan Arrives Abuja Aboard Emirates Airlines
The
airline’s statement on Thursday said: ”Emirates 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.
READ: Emirates Plane Crash-lands at Dubai Airport
”Should there be any positive developments in the coming days
regarding Emirates’ blocked funds in Nigeria, we will of course re-evaluate our
decision. We remain keen to serve Nigeria, and our operations provide much
needed connectivity for Nigerian travelers, providing access to trade and
tourism opportunities to Dubai and to our broader network of over 130
destinations.”
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