Again, Emirate Airlines Suspend Flight Operations to Nigeria Indefinitely

Emirates Airlines has yet again announced the suspension of flight operations to Nigeria indefinitely. The latest suspension which is a result of the company’s inability to repatriate its stacked fund from Nigeria is the second time in less than three months. 

According to the statement released by the Airline, the suspension will take effect from October 29, 2022. 

The airline added that it has no option but to suspend flights to and from Nigeria to mitigate further losses moving forward.

Emirate added that its efforts and meetings with the Central Bank of Nigeria to repatriate its fund haven’t yielded much possible result. However, the airline noted that it is open to any negotiation that could reach a reasonable conclusion within the possible shortest time.

“We hope to reach a mutual resolution with the Nigerian government around the repatriation of blocked funds to enable the resumption of operations and connectivity for travellers and businesses,” the airline said.

It would be recalled that Emirates Airlines has lamented the inability of the company to repatriate about $85 million that was trapped due to foreign exchange scarcity. 

Investors King earlier reported that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila had assured foreign airlines operating in Nigeria that they will be able to repatriate half of their trapped fund by December 2022. 

The speaker stated this at a roundtable discussion he had with the representatives of foreign airlines operating in Nigeria under the toga of the International Air Transport Association (IATA ). 

Meanwhile, the Minister of Aviation who was present at the meeting rejected any form of threat from the foreign airlines. He stated that Nigeria’s Aviation Industry will survive if foreign airlines suspend operations in Nigeria. 

 “Every country, every airline will threaten Nigeria. We will not fly to Nigeria again; we are not given Nigerian visa again”. 

“Countries have been shut down completely and they did well. We are not afraid of being shut out. It will help us to do better. We will begin to go to our hospitals and sc