Emirates Airline to resume flights to Abuja after a year following pick-up in Nigerian economy

UNITED Arab Emirates (UAE) carrier Emirates Airline is to resume scheduled flights to the Nigerian capital Abuja later this month after a year of suspending them following the downturn in the Nigerian economy in 2016.

Back in October 2016, Emirates, like a number of other international airlines suspended flights to Nigeria, citing among other reasons the economic downturn in the country, foreign exchange scarcity and shrinking passenger traffic. However, after a pick-up in the Nigerian economy, aviation minister Hadi Sirika, has revealed that the Dubai-based carrier had agreed to restart flights.

Mr Sirika added that talks were underway to get Emirates to commence flights to the commercial capital, Lagos, via the northern city of Kano. Emirates, one of the biggest airlines at the time was joined by Kenya Airlines in boycotting the Abuja route over similar concerns way back in 2016.

Nigeria's Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, handles thousands of domestic flights annually and is the country’s second busiest airport after Lagos. In March this year, it was closed for six weeks for maintenance work on its runway, which cost about $18m.