Lufthansa resumes flights to Lagos and Abuja and awaits clearance to fly to Port Harcourt

GERMAN airline Lufthansa is awaiting clearance from the Nigerian aviation authorities to resume flights from Europe to the city of Port Harcourt following the recent resumption of flights to Lagos and Abuja as the easing of the coronavirus lockdown continues.

Like most other nations, Nigeria suspended all flights and shut down its airspace at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Over recent months, however, there has been a gradual easing of the lockdown with several airlines allowed to resume flights to Nigeria and Lufthansa is keen to join in too, pointing out that the country as one of its key African markets.

Adenike Macaulay, Lufthansa's general manager for Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea, said the carrier was excited to return to the Lagos/Abuja  and Frankfurt route eight months after it suspended flights following travel restrictions occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic. She added that besides the pandemic and the accompanying restrictions, the airline also had to contend with some bilateral issues involving Germany and the federal government.

According to Ms Macaulay, the carrier has now resumed five weekly departures from Lagos to Frankfurt with three weekly departures from Abuja. She added that the new flight schedule allows all passengers from Nigeria to get the full choice of connecting flights to European, American and Asian destinations from the same terminal.

Ms Macaulay said: “Lufthansa always was and will stay dedicated to Nigeria, one of our key markets in Africa. As we have received the final permission to reopen our flight operations, we are happy to be the first airline to reconnect Nigeria directly to the centre of Europe and onwards to all other continents.

“We offer a considerable number of flights to the US and Canada, allowing our Nigerian guests to have family members and friends again at reach throughout the world. Health and safety continues to be our top priority and we are committed to maintain a strict adherence to hygiene regulations for all our flights.”