By Ola Simeon
As Emirates Airline returns to Nigeria after two years, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, SAN, says more destination options will be opened for indigenous carriers.
Keyamo made the remarks on arrival aboard an Emirates aircraft from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday in Lagos.
The minister assured that the airline has returned to stay and the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) discussed was to secure the route for local operators.
He said that local carriers now have the opportunity to fly into any destination in the UAE.
He said: “With this, we have more competition on different international routes now. That is what it’s all about, to ensure a healthy competition.
“A healthy competition leads to competitive pricing for the benefit of the Nigerian people.
“But you also know that why we fought for this, is that Dubai in particular, is a major hub of the world, it links virtually every country.
“For our airlines too, I can tell you that we also secured some kind of code sharing agreement. We told them that if you want to code share, our airlines will have the right of first refusal,” he said.
Keyamo applauded the support of President Bola Tinubu in the agreement and return of the airline, saying that the relationship between the two countries have been restored.
“The relationship went downhill with visa suspension and suspension of their flights for Nigerians, it was especially damaging, because we know that Nigerians have a lot of investments in the UAE.
“They have a lot of interest and investments there so, eventually it was not an adventure in the self-glorification, it was actually a fight for the people of Nigeria especially.
“We signed a new BASA defining our relationship altogether, again making it more healthy, more open and for the benefits especially of the Nigerian people,” he said.
The airline had suspended flight operations two years ago owing to trapped funds in Nigerian coffers.
The official delegation onboard was led by Adil Al Ghaith, the airline’s Senior Vice President Commercial Operations, Gulf, Middle East and Central Asia; David Broz, Senior Vice President of Aeropoliticaland Airline Industry Affairs; and Sami Aqil Abdullah, Senior Vice President Emirates Airport Services Outstation and Business Support.
