By Abiola Olawale
After a long-anticipated wait, the Emirates Airlines flight has officially landed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos State.
The New Diplomat reports that this comes after a two-year suspension of flights by Emirates, the flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Checks by New Diplomat revealed that the airline’s flight EK 783 landed at around 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
The service was operated using a Boeing 777-300ER.
Upon landing at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, flight number EK 783 was welcomed by a water canon salute.
The New Diplomat reports that this development follows weeks of diplomatic and technical consultations as well as engagements aimed at restoring direct air travel between Nigeria and the UAE.
Recall that Emirates Airline suspended its flight operations to Nigeria in October 2022. The airline said the decision was hinged on its inability to repatriate funds held in the country.
The airline had maintained that about $85 million in revenue was purportedly trapped in Nigeria. However, after two years of fruitful negotiations, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Olorogun Festus Keyamo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, with the backing of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been able to resolve the thorny issues as the airline has now resumed its operations in Nigeria on October 1, 2024.
