JUST IN: Emirates Will Resume Flights Into Nigeria Before June— Keyamo

… Says CBN Has Cleared All $160m Trapped Funds

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo has said that Emirates Airlines has confirmed that it will resume operations in Nigeria.

The aviation minister said this on Monday during an interview on Arise TV, monitored by THE WHISTLER.

The Bola Tinubu-led government had announced in September last year the resumption of Emirates flights and other United Arab Emirates (UAE) airlines after the Nigerian president visited the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in Abu Dhabi, for talks.

However, the airlines have not resumed operation months after the announcement which was done by Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale.

Keyamo however said that the announcement was not “fake news. It was hasty news.”

“It is almost happening. I just got a letter from Emirates. The letter is on my phone now. They are ready to come back. So, they will announce the date.

“You know to restart a route; they will have to get the aircraft and all that. I am announcing for the first time to Nigerians that I just received a letter from Emirates now. The letter is with me. I have the hard copy too. They are thanking us for all the efforts we made.”

The minister said Emirates confirmed that all the issues have been resolved adding they are prepared to resume operation.
On the timeline, Keyamo said, “Maybe before June. Definitely before the summer, they will announce the date.”

The repatriation of trapped funds amounting to millions of dollars was among the reasons that led to the suspension of Emirates Airlines flights in Nigeria back in November 2022.

But Keyamo explained that “There were two sets of funds so people got it confused. There were the funds that were trapped by the Central Bank of Nigeria and that is the one that amounted to about $160m.

“That is the government’s obligation and we have cleared it. So, when the government says they have cleared their obligations, they are talking about the ones that CBN has the responsibility in respect of. They have cleared those.

“The other ones are for the commercial banks. When airlines sell their tickets, their funds are trapped in commercial banks. The commercial banks are unable to raise FX to fund and transfer to them. So, that is not the government’s responsibility. Government has cleared 100 per cent of trapped funds.”