Emirates Airline, flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has extended the resumption of flights to and from Nigeria till October 10.
This was announced by the airline in an updated statement on its website, as a diplomatic row between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) deepens.
Regretting any inconveniences this may cause, the airline said that customers who have been to or connected through Nigeria in the last 14 days will not be permitted on any Emirates flights bound for Dubai.
It also said that affected flight bookings have been cancelled and asked customers not to ask for rebooking immediately but to simply hold on to their Emirates ticket and when flights resume, they can make a new booking.
Recall that since February, Emirates had suspended flight operations into Nigeria after the federal government stopped the airline from conducting rapid COVID-19 tests for Nigerian travellers at the Lagos and Abuja airports before departure.
Later, the federal government reversed the ban when the airline agreed to stop the rapid antigen tests.
A twist in March caused the federal government to reintroduce the ban, explaining that Emirates continued to conduct tests for passengers before departure from Nigeria.
In a response,
the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) had also said the moves by Emirates violated the country’s COVID-19 protocols — while Hadi Sirika, minister of aviation, said it is discriminatory profiling of Nigerian travellers.
