by Nurat Uthman
Emirates Airlines has resumed its Dubai-Lagos daily flights after a two-year hiatus.
The flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) resumed flight operations to Nigeria on Tuesday, October 1, 2024.
The airline’s flight landed at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos on Tuesday as Nigerians celebrate 64 years of independence from British colonial rule.
Emirates Airlines suspended its Dubai-Lagos flights in November 2022 over its inability to repatriate trapped funds in Nigeria in the heat of the diplomatic fireworks between the two countries.
Nigeria and the UAE have a long history of restriction of flights between both countries based on certain unresolved issues surrounding the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA). Visa restrictions later surfaced as diplomatic fireworks continued between Nigeria and the UAE, which is a top destination for Nigerian migrants and tourists.
However, in September 2023, President Bola Tinubu met with UAE President, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in Abu Dhabi, to smoothen the rough edges in the diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Subsequently, in May 2024, Emirates Airlines said its daily Lagos-Dubai flights would resume from October 1, 2024. Two months later, the Federal Government of Nigeria reached an agreement with the UAE to allow Nigerian passport holders to obtain travel visa to the Arab nation.
