UAE: No Timeframe On Resumption Of Emirate Flights – FG

The Federal Government on Thursday announced that there is no timeframe for resumption of Emirates and Etihad flights.

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace, Festus Keyamo noted that there is an ongoing discussion between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on terms of agreement.

Keyamo stated this while speaking during the Aviation Africa Summit in Abuja on Thursday.

This is coming after President Bola Tinubu met with his counterpart, Sheik Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on Monday, in Abu Dhabi, over the visa ban.

Keyamo, giving an update on the visa ban lift, said, “So, we are beginning to work out all the tiny details. I have met with the Emirate before I left UAE, and we are working out the details. We cannot say the time frame. Kicking off an airline operation again on a route does not mean you will go and grab one empty plane sitting in a place.

“There is no idle plane sitting anywhere, they have to reschedule their flights and restart their routes again. All kinds of permission will be taken from local authorities and of course, I made the point in speaking with them and I made it clear that they will have to give our airlines reciprocal rights under our Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASAs).

“That is the point I insisted on, and they did say that any spot we need, they will give us as much as we give them those spots within Nigeria.”