Travel/Tourism
Lufthansa’s Resumption of Flights to Nigeria Thrills Passengers
By Dipo Olowookere
Passengers seeking to travel to Europe, especially Germany could not hide their joy when Lufthansa resumed flight operations on Thursday, December 3, 2020, after an eight-month suspension.
The respected airline again welcomed its passengers yesterday at the Lagos airport on board of its resumed nonstop flight from Frankfurt/Germany.
The leading German carrier will offer up to five weekly departures from Lagos to Frankfurt and from Tuesday, December 8, 2020, it will also connect Abuja with three weekly departures.
All long-haul flights depart from Nigeria in the evening as overnight flights, arriving in Lufthansa’s main hub Frankfurt in the early morning. This allows all passengers from Nigeria to get the full choice of connecting flights to European, American and Asian destinations, leaving all from the same terminal 1.
“Lufthansa always was and will stay dedicated to Nigeria, one of our key markets in Africa. As we have received the final permission to reopen our flight operations.
“We are happy to be the first airline to reconnect Nigeria directly to the centre of Europe and onwards to all other continents,” the General Manager Nigeria & Equatorial Guinea Lufthansa Group Airlines, Adenike Macaulay, stated.
Macaulay further said, “We offer a considerable number of flights to the US and Canada, allowing our Nigerian guests to have family members and friends again at reach throughout the world.
“Health and safety continue to be our top priority and we are committed to maintaining a strict adherence to hygiene regulations for all our flights.”
Lufthansa stopped its operations in Nigeria in March 2020 because of the travel restrictions put in place by the federal government to curb the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.
Lufthansa flight LH568, Frankfurt to Lagos, serviced by an Airbus 330-300, offers passengers seats in all three classes, including Business Class and Premium Economy Class.
After its arrival in Lagos, this service will continue to Malabo /Equatorial Guinea. The nonstop flight will commence with three weekly departures on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to be increased to five weekly frequencies every day except Tuesdays and Sundays. The return flight will be scheduled on the same days of operations reaching Frankfurt only after six hours flight.
LH594 will be the flight number for the resumed connection between Frankfurt and Abuja with three weekly departures. An Airbus 330-300 connects the Nigerian capital to the financial centre of Germany, Frankfurt, also with seats in three classes.
Finally, it is planned that this flight will also resume service to Port Harcourt; however, this onward flight is not yet confirmed until the airport is reopened.
As of now, all flights can be booked immediately through the usual distribution channels and the airlines’ website www.lufthansa.com.
The Lufthansa Group said it has taken special hygiene measures to protect passengers and employees. These apply not only onboard but also before and after the journey.
Details of these measures can be found at www.lufthansa.com/de/en/protection-measures and passengers have been advised to check travel and destination entry requirements before departure.
The firm further emphasised that all intending travellers to Nigeria must have tested negative for COVID-19 as PCR test in the country of departure pre-boarding. The PCR test must be done within 120 hours before departure and preferably within 72 hours pre-boarding.
International travellers will require a second test to be done in Nigeria, seven days after arrival and that registration for travellers to Nigeria is mandatory on https://nitp.ncdc.gov.ng/.
It stated further that for those travelling to Germany, no mandatory PCR test is required, however, passengers are required to register on https://einreiseanmeldung.de and stay in quarantine for 10 days after entry. Transit passengers are expected to abide by health and safety measures in their destination country.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A travel card designed for tourists, business visitors, Diaspora returnees has been launched by Verve in partnership with Providus Bank.
Known as the ProvidusVerve Travel Card, the Naira-based travel card will allow inbound travellers to enjoy a smooth, secure, and convenient payment experience throughout their stay in Nigeria. It was powered by Verve’s secure.
Created to support the surge of tourists, expatriates, business visitors, conference delegates, and returning diaspora expected during the festive Detty December season, the ProvidusVerve Travel Card enables seamless payments for transportation, hotels, dining, shopping, entertainment, and everyday essentials nationwide.
The card also works on select global merchant platforms that accept Verve, including Netflix, Google Play, and other digital services, ensuring travellers enjoy uninterrupted access to familiar services.
The ProvidusVerve Travel Card eliminates the hassle of sourcing naira or converting foreign currency on arrival. It enables instant, secure transactions, reduces reliance on cash, and supports compliance with the cashless policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
It also mitigates the risks associated with carrying physical cash such as loss, theft, or fraud, offering a safe, regulation-aligned option for both online and in-person payments.
“The ProvidusVerve Travel Card is a timely solution for inbound travellers seeking reliability, security, and simplicity while navigating Nigeria.
“Together with Providus Bank, we have created a product that eliminates the friction traditionally associated with accessing local payments.
“Whether for tourism, business, or festive activities, this card ensures a smooth financial experience from the moment visitors land,” the Vice President for Issuing and Acquiring Management for Africa at Verve International, Mr Paul Ohakim, stated.
On his part, the Divisional Head for Product Management and Solution Delivery at Interswitch, Mr Ademola Adeniran, described the partnership as a reflection of “Verve’s commitment to designing products that respond to real user needs.”
“The ProvidusVerve Travel Card supports everyday experiences — from booking rides and hotels to shopping, streaming, and dining. It provides inbound travellers with a secure, compliant, digital-first way to experience Nigeria without financial barriers,” he added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, has disclosed that the federal government may recover and sell the assets of Dana Air to refund passengers and travel agents whose funds remain trapped following the suspension of the airline’s operations.
The Minister disclosed this in Abuja on Tuesday at the Ministry’s fourth quarter stakeholders’ engagement to enhance governance for effective service delivery in aviation.
Speaking at the event themed “leveraging public feedback to drive excellence in aviation services, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) will be directed to probe why funds trapped by the airline are yet to be refunded.
He revealed that the authority suspended the operations of the airline as a matter of choice between safety and disaster.
“For Dana, the problem is that it was a choice between safety and disaster. So we didn’t take the commercial thing as priority. The priority was safety, and we all looked at the damning reports that we had met on the table.
“It was a decision of the NCAA to suspend them, but I pushed them to say, look, these are the reports we are seeing on the table about safety record, about lack of standards that put the lives of Nigerians at risk. If they continue flying, I don’t know whether most of us will be here. Many of us would have been victims of one of those flights. God forbid.”
According to him, “I have asked Najomo (NCAA director general) to dig deep to find out how those passengers and agents will be refunded. He has to dig deep on that.
“One solution will also be that if that same individual or those entities are trying to come back to aviation under any guise, whether to go and register a new AOC or use any business within the aviation sector, they have to go and settle their debts first.
“We should look at their assets. There are assets that are still available. Let them sell their assets. Let’s cannibalize their revenue and pay people. Let’s find a way to go after their assets and get money to pay Nigerians who are owed.
“NCAA should do that because they can’t get away with it.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) said it has imposed a N5 million penalty on Qatar Airways for consumer protection violations.
The announcement was made on Wednesday by the NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs & Consumer Protection, Mr Michael Achimugu, on X, adding that there may be other sanctions depending on how the airline treats other cases.
“Glad to announce that, today, the NCAA has sanctioned @qatarairways to the tune of five million naira being penalty for consumer protection-related infractions. In addition, the letters of investigation (LOI) written to the airline over other cases may lead to further sanctions if not treated satisfactorily,” Mr Achimugu wrote.
The fine followed an incident when a Nigerian passenger was accused by a Qatar Airways cabin crew member of sexual harassment during boarding in Lagos for a flight to the United States via Doha, Qatar.
The allegation was only reported in Doha, where the passenger was arrested, detained for 18 hours, fined, and compelled to sign a document written solely in Arabic.
Qatar Airways allegedly refused to continue his journey, forcing him to purchase another ticket at considerable financial and reputational cost.
The NCAA said it invited Qatar Airways’ country manager to a meeting over the incident, but he failed to attend, sending subordinates instead.
“I understand that some countries do not have advanced aviation consumer protection regulations like Nigeria does. In certain cases, some countries don’t even have any. This creates a situation where airlines operating out of those countries (mostly national carriers) act with disdain towards consumer protection enforcement in Nigeria.
“This is not a situation that we would accept here. It is against the law for ANY Airlines not to respond to the NCAA. It is against the law to provide false information to the NCAA. It is against the law to fail to comply with the provisions of Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023,” Mr Achimugu said in an earlier post.
In September, the NCAA accused Qatar Airways of mistreating Nigerian passengers and failing to comply with consumer protection regulations under Part 19 of the NCAA Regulations 2023.
The regulator then threatened stiff penalties against the airline for repeatedly disregarding its directives.
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