The numerous visits paid to the United. Arab Emirates government by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to get the communication breakdown between the two countries resolved may have paid off as the UAE airline has concluded plans to resume flights between the two countries before summer.
Dropping this hint on Monday during an interview session with the Arise Television, the minister of aviation and aerospace development, Mr Festus Keyamo confirmed that the UAE airline had already indicated its readiness in a letter sent to the federal government.
Emirates’ resumption of flights is coming over one year after it abruptly suspended flights between the two countries over controversial issues.
While appearing on the television programme, Keyamo confirmed that he had personally received a letter from the airline on its planned return and equally used the opportunity to correct the notion that the earlier reported resolution of the face-off between the countries when President Tinubu visited the UAE government was fake.
According to the minister, what transpired during the earlier visit and resolution was not fake but was presented in a ‘hasty’ manner.
His words: “Emirates flight resumption is almost happening. I just received a letter from Emirates. The letter is on my phone now. They have gone through all the gamut and they are ready to come back. They will announce the date because to restart a route, they must get an aircraft for that route.”
“I am announcing to Nigerians for the first time; that I just received a letter from Emirates now. The letter is with me. I have a hard copy thanking you for all the efforts we made. Mr. President was the showman here. He was the one who pushed for it. He made my job easy because he went there, and had a diplomatic shuttle to resolve all the issues. That was why I said the last announcement was hasty and not fake news. They will announce the date for their next flight. We have received a letter confirming that all the issues have been resolved and prepared to start coming back. It may be before June.”
Apart from Emirates suspending flights to Nigeria, in 2022, the UAE immigration department notified its trade partners and travel agencies that it was stopping visa applications from 22 countries, 20 of which are African nations.
The minister equally used the opportunity to reveal that wifi technology will be available in all airports anytime from now for the enjoyment of passengers.
He also cleared the air on the foreign carriers’ controversial trapped funds, declaring that the federal government had already settled its part of the accumulated debts.
In 2022, the UAE immigration department notified its trade partners and travel agencies that it was stopping visa applications from 22 countries, 20 of which are African nations.