“Emirates Airlines on Thursday announced that it would suspension of all flights from Nigeria with effect from September 1, 2022 to reduce its losses and negative impact the plying of the nation’s route is causing its operations.
The management of the carrier, in a statement disclosed that the latest option was adopted after several moves to address the ongoing challenges in repatriating funds from Nigeria, including considerable efforts to initiate dialogue with the relevant authorities for their urgent intervention to help find a viable solution to the problem, failed.
The statement reads: “Regrettably there has been no progress. Therefore, Emirates has taken the difficult decision to suspend all flights to and from Nigeria, effective 1 September 2022, to limit further losses and impact on our operational costs that continue to accumulate in the market.
“We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to our customers, however the circumstances are beyond our control at this stage. We will be working to help impacted customers make alternative travel arrangements wherever possible.
“Should there be any positive developments in the coming days regarding Emirates’ blocked funds in Nigeria, we will of course re-evaluate our decision.
“We remain keen to serve Nigeria, and our operations provide much needed connectivity for Nigerian travellers, providing access to trade and tourism opportunities to Dubai, and to our broader network of over 130 destinations”, the airline assured.
It would be recalled that the airline had recently claimed that it was unable to repatriate about $85 million in revenue from the Nigerian government.
