Emirates Airlines has announced it will resume daily flights between Lagos and Dubai starting October 1, 2024. This service will be operated using a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer, expressed the airline’s enthusiasm for resuming operations in Nigeria.

“We are excited to resume our services to Nigeria.”

The Lagos-Dubai service has traditionally been popular with customers in Nigeria, and we hope to reconnect leisure and business travellers to Dubai and onwards to our network of over 140 destinations,” Kazim stated.

He also thanked the Nigerian government for their cooperation in re-establishing this route, and looked forward to welcoming passengers back on board.

Emirates Airlines had suspended its Dubai-Lagos flights in 2022 due to issues related to the repatriation of trapped funds in Nigeria amidst a diplomatic row between the two countries.

Nigeria and the UAE have faced longstanding issues regarding flight restrictions based on unresolved matters in the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA). Visa restrictions have also been a point of contention, affecting diplomatic relations between the two nations. The UAE remains a significant destination for Nigerian migrants and tourists.

In September 2023, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu met with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi to address and resolve these diplomatic tensions.

Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, recently confirmed that Emirates Airlines had set a definite date to resume flight operations to Nigerian airports. However, the UAE has not yet officially announced any changes to the visa ban imposed on Nigerian travelers.