The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has hinted that the Dubai-based Emirates Airlines may resume flight operations to Nigeria before June 2024.
The Minister said this on Monday while reacting to the airline’s suspension of flights to Nigeria in October 2022.
Speaking during an interview on Arise Television’s The Morning Show on Monday, Keyamo disputed the anchor’s claim that the announcement made by the federal government in October 2023 regarding the resumption of flights between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was false, since flights between both countries are yet to commence.
He noted that, contrary to what the anchor and others believed, the news was not fake but premature, as the resumption of flights between Nigeria and the UAE, particularly the return of Emirates Airline flights to Nigeria, will happen soon, likely before June.
He confirmed that all issues leading to Emirates Airlines’ suspension of operations in Nigeria have been resolved and that they are prepared to resume operations in Nigeria.
The Aviation Minister clarified that though the federal government had earlier announced the resumption of flights between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the airline could resume operations in Nigeria before June 2024, with the delay attributed to last-minute arrangements.
Speaking further on the repatriation of trapped funds, which led to the suspension of some foreign airlines’ operations in Nigeria, Keyamo clarified that all trapped funds of airlines under the purview of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have been cleared.
He further stated that the remaining trapped funds of airlines in Nigeria are held in commercial banks in the country. According to him, these commercial banks lack the capacity to obtain the necessary foreign exchange and transfer the funds to the airlines.