Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has disclosed that for a long-term flight service to Nigeria, the Middle East mega carrier, Emirates Airlines, is meeting for codeshare partnership among Nigerian carriers.
This indicates a stronger relationship between the airlines of both countries as codeshare allows passengers to book through itineraries on two (or more) airlines.
In effect, by choosing to codeshare with a Nigerian airline, Emirates wants to accentuate such partnership and this signifies that the airline wants to deepen stakes in Nigeria.
“I can tell you that we also secured some kind of co-sharing agreement. We told them that if they want to co-share, our airlines will have the right of first refusal. We said our local airlines will have the right of first refusal. Because there will be a lot of co-sharing in this respect now.
“And as I speak with you, they are speaking with many of our local operators. I went with some of them. Emirates is speaking with a lot of our local operators now. And that is also for the benefit of our local aviation industry,” the aviation minister elaborated.
Fielding questions from journalists after a meeting with Emirates officials on arrival at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, on Wednesday, the Minister disclosed that embedded in the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) is a clause that allows airlines from both countries to operate from an airport of their choice.
This is in contrast with the past when the Nigerian carrier, Air Peace, was designated to one airport, Sharjah, but this time, BASA allows Emirates and the airline that will represent Nigeria to choose the airports they would operate from.
“We secured that airlines from both countries can fly to any airport. In fact, I will put it advisedly that we are also free to fly to any airport in the UAE,” the Minister said.
The Minister also noted that UAE and Nigeria lost some economic benefits due to the diplomatic impasse that subsequently led to the suspension of flight service to Nigeria by Emirates, disclosing that the airline said that it has come back to the Nigerian route for the long term.
His words: “When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu) came into office, he made it clear that he would like to restore relationships with most of the major partners and countries around the world. As a government, we identified the UAE as a major and important partner and a country that we should restore our relationship with.
“The relationship went downhill before, you know, with visas, suspension of visas, suspension of their flights. And for Nigerians, it was especially damaging because we know that Nigerians have a lot of interest and investments in the UAE.
“So eventually it was not an adventure in the self-glorification, it was actually a fight for the people of Nigeria, especially. And I am sure you see the tempo around is that people are excited, people are happy that we are restoring relationships with the UAE.
“And that is why I took all the pain to go back there to sign a new BASA. I went there, we signed a new bilateral air service agreement. You know, we are defining our relationship altogether again, making it healthier, making it more open and for the benefits, especially of the Nigerian people.
“But I am sure you heard from them, the horse’s mouth, not me. They say they are back to stay. They are not going anywhere again because I think the suspension hurt both sides. They felt it and we felt it. But now they are back.”
Keyamo said that it was a priority when deliberating on the details of the BASA to secure the interest of Nigerian airlines to ensure that if any of them wants to operate to any destination in UAE it could do, adding that that having more airlines and Nigerian airlines operating international destinations encourages competition, which lowers the fares for the passengers.
He further said: “First of all, you have more options. The first thing we did when we went to negotiate a new bilateral air service agreement was to also secure the route for our local operators. And I am sure you saw my statement last week.
“It was one of the major things I stood my grounds on. And if you look at the new one, it said to any destination. So, nobody is going to have to say, well, this is prime, this is not prime airport. Our agreement with them is they fly to any destination; we fly to any destination in the UAE.
“So, it’s purely reciprocal in that respect. First of all, you know that we have a variety of choices now. We have more competition on different international routes now. That is what it is all about, is to ensure healthy competition. And healthy competition leads to competitive prices for the benefit of the Nigerian people.
“I am sure you know, without mentioning an airline, when Emirates suspended its operations to Nigeria, some other airlines ripped the benefits. Many of them increased their frequencies to Nigeria. Many of them increased their prizes because the seats were not available, flights were not available and all of that.
“But you also know that why we fought for this is that Dubai in particular is a major hub of the world. It links virtually every major country in the world. So, for Nigerian travelers, it is easy to access any part of the world by simply traveling to Dubai and connecting to that country.”
Chinedu Eze
