Airline Chief Executive Jenifer Bamuturaki announced during the 18th Akwaaba Africa Travel and Tourism Market that flights to Lagos will begin before the end of 2022 and that further flights to Abuja will begin in 2023. The precise times and frequencies have not yet been disclosed.

“I am happy to tell you that we, the Uganda Airlines, will begin our flights to Nigeria for the first time in history in December 2022,” said Bamuturaki.

“This will be our first flight to West Africa; we will begin that and then begin to grow slowly. When we come to Nigeria, we will be working through recognized travel agents and tour operators.”

The flag carrier currently offers 11 routes out of its hub in Entebbe, covering an array of destinations across Africa and the Middle East. The thrice-weekly flights to London Heathrow Airport have yet to be given the green light despite significant demand, with no potential launch dates announced

Some airline operators, like Emirates Airlines, have announced the suspension of flights due to some of those challenges. Although, specifically, Emirates cited its inability to repatriate its foreign exchange revenues from Nigeria as the major reason behind its decision.

Emirates had stated two weeks prior that around $85 million of this cash was in Nigeria.

Also, TechEconomy understands that over 20 foreign airlines worth at least $600 million have had their flights to Nigeria barred since the year began.

On Friday, the House of Representatives summoned the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, and the Ministers of Finance and Aviation, Zainab Ahmed and Hadi Sirika, respectively, to a stakeholder meeting to address some of the issues.

The Clerk of the House, Yahaya Danzaria, noted that the stakeholders’ meeting was necessary after briefing the Green Chamber leadership on the alarming notice of withdrawal of services recently issued by some international aircraft operators in the nation.

According to Danzaria, the Speaker has instructed the House Management and Nnoli Nnaji, the chairman of the Committee on Aviation, to immediately schedule a meeting with all parties involved in the aviation industry and the executive branch of government to discuss urgent solutions to the problems at hand.

Other critical stakeholders invited are Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business, Director General of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), country representative of International Air Transport Association (IATA), Emirate Airline Country Manager, and chairman, Banking and Currency Committee of the House.

The Clerk stated that Speaker requests all parties in the matter, specifically Emirates Airlines to suspend any action and await the outcome of the meeting.