Emirates Airlines suspends all flights from Nigeria until Feb 28 as dispute with government escalates

EMIRATES Airlines has suspended all flights from Nigeria to Dubai for two weeks until February 28 as the ongoing disputes between the carrier and the federal government looks like it is escalating.

Earlier this week, Nigerian government officials suspended all Emirates Airlines’ outbound flights for 72 hours following a flagrant breach of the guidelines laid down by the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 regarding travel. Nigerian law does not approve of rapid antigen tests done at laboratories but Emirates Airlines has been using them to airlift passengers.

As a result of this flagrant breach, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) issued a circular on February 4, suspending all Emirates Airlines operations. It now appears that the dispute has escalated with the airline deciding that travellers from both Abuja and Lagos would not be accepted for travel.

Also, the carrier warned that passengers who have been to or connected through Nigeria within the last 14 days would not be allowed entry into the United Arab Emirates, whether terminating in or connecting through Dubai. An Emirates spokesman said, however, that flights from Dubai to Lagos and Abuja would continue at the normal schedule and he urged travellers to contact the airline’s customer centre or their booking agent if they needed rescheduling.

He added: “In line with government directives, passenger services from Nigeria to Dubai are temporarily suspended until February 28 2021. Customers from both Abuja and Lagos will not be accepted for travel prior to or including this date.

“Passengers who have been to or connected through Nigeria in the last 14 days are not allowed entry into the United Arab Emirates. This includes both those terminating in or connecting through Dubai.”