The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, SAN has assured that the suspended Emirates Airline will soon resume flights to Nigeria.
Keyamo, who was speaking at the 2023 Dubai Airshow in the UAE, reiterated the desire of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration to explore modern technologies that could contribute to advancing the five-point agenda for the Nigerian aviation industry, focusing on infrastructure improvement and promoting innovation and creativity in cutting-edge aviation technologies.
During the airshow, Keyamo engaged in valuable discussions with representatives of various companies, sharing insights and expertise while examining the latest technologies. Notably, he met with officials from Emirates Airline on the sidelines of the event to discuss the resumption of flights to Nigeria. The discussions yielded positive results, with the airline’s management assuring that flight operations would resume very soon.
Additionally, the Emirati government approved Nigeria’s carrier, Air Peace’s operation of direct flights to and from Dubai’s primary airport. This signifies a significant development in air travel between both countries.
In another meeting, Keyamo engaged with the management of Airlin Executive, led by CEO Dana Hatcic, a company expressing interest in establishing an MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) facility in Nigeria. The discussions were fruitful and the management has been invited to Nigeria for further follow-up on their business plans.
Looking forward, Keyamo expressed the possibility of organising the maiden edition of the Nigeria Airshow in November 2024, making Nigeria the first African country to host such an event. Some exhibitors from the Dubai Airshow have already committed to participating in Nigeria’s Airshow.
The Dubai Airshow, which ran from November 13th to 17th, 2023, attracted a significant number of participants from around the world, including experts from the aviation and aerospace industries.
