THE United Arab Emirates, UAE, flag carrier, Emirates, on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, landed at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport, MMIA, Lagos, two years after suspending operations in Nigeria.
According to media reports, flight number EK 783 touched down at the old terminal of the MMIA, at 3:32 pm, confirming the carrier’s resumption.
However, before the flight, a Senior First Officer at Emirates, Moha Madugu, had expressed his happiness on X, formerly Twitter, stating: “A very special day for me today, I have the honour of operating our inaugural return flight to Lagos, Nigeria. Today I will be flying both the Emirates and Nigerian flag very high. Thank you, Emirates. A flight time of slightly over eight hours today. #EkoOniBaje.”
Recall that in November 2022, Emirates suspended flight operations to Nigeria over its inability to repatriate its $85 million revenue-trapped funds. The suspension was the second time the airline halted flights to Nigeria with the first occurring in August 2022.