Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
The ban earlier placed on Emirates Airlines by the federal government has been lifted after governments of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Nigeria resolved the visa crisis.
It was alleged that UAE stopped issuing visas to Nigerians and the federal government reciprocated by banning flights of the Emirates into the country.
As a result of this, both governments went into discussions on how to resolve the issue.
On Wednesday afternoon, Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, Mr Hadi Sirika, announced that the UAE has agreed to start issuing visas to citizens of the African nation.
He said consequently, Emirates Airlines can now resume flight operations into the country, removing the airline operator from the list of airlines restricted from flying the nation’s airspace.
“[The] UAE has written to state that they agree to issue visas to Nigerians.
“Consequently, [a] decision has been reached to allow Emirates to fly into Nigeria.
“[The] commencement of the visa issuance is condition precedent. Please bear with this unusual situation. Many thanks,” the Minister posted on his Twitter page today.
Nigeria is one of the biggest markets of Emirates Airlines in Africa, with many Nigerians going to the UAE, especially Dubai and Abi Dhabi, for vacation and shopping.
