Nigerians rejoiced on May 16, 2024, as Emirates Airlines announced its return to the country starting October 1st.
The airline’s 2022 hiatus due to repatriation issues left a significant void with many left to count their losses.
“We’re excited to resume flights,” said Emirates’ Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer Adnan Kazim. “The Lagos-Dubai route has been popular, and we hope to reconnect travelers to Dubai and our vast network.”
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), under the embattled Godwin Emefiele, had restricted access to the US dollar to tackle the harsh shortage of the foreign currency in the country.
The Arab airline couldn’t repatriate its staggering $85m revenue due to this policy, and it suspended its operations after initially pruning the number of its flights to Lagos, Nigeria, to seven from 11 in protest.
However, since Emirates, one of the richest airlines in the world, hung up its operations in the West African nation’s commercial hub, Lagos State, neither the country’s Air Peace, which operates the route, nor foreign airlines like Ethiopian Airlines, Egypt Air, and Etihad Rwanda have been able to fill the disturbing vacuum Emirates left behind.
Experts say Emirates’ flight suspension rendered Nigerians who worked with the airline jobless and also denied the country’s aviation sector the opportunity to generate funds. They also add that the continuous denial of Emirates’ revenue repatriation by the CBN led to a loss of FDI confidence in the country.
Bold move
Disturbed by the development, President Bola Tinubu, who has turned to a salesman in recent times due to Nigeria’s mind-boggling financial status, had a progressive meeting with the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, which has now resulted in the return of Emirates airlines to Nigeria, and there are high hopes that the lifting of the visa ban on Nigerians will follow soon.
While the agreement they reached in the meeting remains vague, the good news is that the return of Emirates Airlines to Nigeria is now sorted, and the impending lifting of the visa ban on Nigerians will immensely contribute to the growth of Nigeria’s economy.
Nigerians who were out of jobs due to the hiatus will be fully employed again, and the aviation sector will make more money from the airline’s flights.
Bilateral relationship
The return of Emirates also promises to rekindle the longstanding bilateral relationship between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates.
“With the resumption of daily passenger flights, the airline’s cargo arm, Emirates SkyCargo, will further bolster the trade relationship by offering more than 300 tonnes of belly-hold cargo capacity, in and out of Lagos every week,” Adnan assured.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in the second quarter of 2023, Nigeria’s total trade stood at N12,741.96 billion, total exports stood at N7,015.71 billion, and total imports amounted to N5,726.25 billion.
The return of Emirates will increase Nigeria’s foreign trade as its SkyCargo will help transport the country’s goods into crucial markets such as the UAE, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Bahrain.
Price war
Air Peace ignited a price war in Nigeria’s aviation sector with its low fares for Lagos-London flights. Many airlines followed suit. Experts are divided on how Emirates’ return will affect this dynamic.
“Emirates might initially join the price war to regain market share,” said aviation analyst Emeka Okoro. “However, they could eventually stabilize fares due to their premium brand positioning.”
Welcome back
The return of Emirates is a welcome development for Nigeria. While the exact economic impact remains to be seen, the potential for increased revenue, job creation, and a stronger bilateral relationship is significant.
In all, Emirates’ return to Nigeria is a win-win for the airline and Nigeria. While the former is going about its business and plucking the fruits of its labor, the latter’s trade will increase as its economy continues to thrive.
