Less than 24 hours after United Arab Emirates based airline, Emirates airline announced that they would be resuming flights to Nigeria as from February 5, the government of Nigeria, has revealed that after careful consideration, they have approved the resumption of Emirates airline flight operations to Nigeria, while asking the authorities of the middle East nation to allow Air Peace Nigeria resume flights operations to Dubai, starting March.
The Director-General of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Musa Nuhu, in a letter addressed to His Excellency, Saif Mohammed Al Suwaid, Director General, UAE General Civil Aviation Authority, as reported by multiple news websites, asked the authorities in the middle east country to approve the request by Air Peace for the resumption of passenger flights effective March 1, 2022.
The letter, dated February 1, 2022, with reference: NCAA/DG/CCAA/20/16/119 was titled: ‘Re: Operations of Flights-UAE/Nigeria VV-COVID-19 Safety Decision Issue 24’.
The letter reads “Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority extends its compliments to the General Civil Aviation Authority of the United Arab Emirates… Your letter of 28 January 2022 with Ref GCAA/ATD/19-22 on the above subject matter refers. I wish to inform you that the safety decision issue has been accepted by Nigerian authorities after review by relevant parties. Consequently, Emirates Airlines can resume scheduled passenger flight operations to Nigeria at its convenience. I wish to bring to the notice of HE that the Nigerian operator, Air Peace Airlines has submitted its request to UAE Authorities for resumption of scheduled passenger flights between the two countries effective 01 March 2022.”
Recall that the Nigerian government and UAE authorities had been enmeshed in a row over the way a Nigerian carrier, Air Peace was treated, a row that made Emirates Airlines suspend all its flights to Nigeria last December, as a retaliatory action taken against the Federal Government. The Nigerian government had earlier reduced the frequencies approved for the Middle East airline to just one over an ongoing diplomatic row.