Emirates, the flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), will resume daily flight services between Lagos and Dubai starting 1 October 2024. This comes after a suspension lasting 25 months due to blocked funds amounting to over $85 million. The suspension was followed by a visa ban on Nigerians, halting movement between the two countries.
The resumption follows renewed negotiations between the UAE and Nigeria, initiated by President Bola Tinubu. In August, President Tinubu visited the UAE to address the diplomatic issues, and it was announced that the UAE would lift the visa ban while Emirates and Etihad would resume flights. However, the agreements were later stated to be under fine-tuning.
Emirates announced its return, planning to use a Boeing 777-300ER for the service. Flight EK783 will depart Dubai at 0945hrs, arriving in Lagos at 1520hrs, and the return flight EK784 will leave Lagos at 1730hrs, arriving in Dubai at 0510hrs the next day. Emirates’ Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer, Adnan Kazim, expressed excitement about resuming services, highlighting the importance of the Lagos-Dubai route for both leisure and business travelers.
Source: Daily Trust