Middle East mega carrier, Emirates Airlines has reacted to the call by Airline Operators of Nigeria that Nigeria should renegotiate its Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) with UAE and excoriated
“We refer to the various news media articles on 5 August 2019, which reported that The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has criticized the federal government’s approval of additional flights to Emirates Airline.
Emirates would like to clarify that we have not increased scheduled flight services to Abuja or Lagos. We had only operated extra flights to Abuja and Lagos for a very limited period, for the sole purpose of serving Nigerian pilgrims traveling to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for Hajj.
Some detractors like to claim that Emirates receives government subsidies and therefore represent unfair competition. But these allegations are patently false, and we have repeatedly debunked these myths over the years. Our audited financial reports for the past 20 years are published on our website for anyone to inspect. Emirates has always been run on a commercial basis. In fact our success is driven by the very fact that we must stand on our own feet – which means we must keep winning over customers with the best possible services, while closely watching our costs so that we can return a profit to our shareholder.
International carriers operating in Nigeria offer a greater choice for consumers, and are also crucial to supporting Nigerian tourism and trade. Emirates first started operations to Lagos in 2004, and we have since remained committed to Nigeria. During this time, we have helped facilitate trade between Nigeria and other international markets, and provided travellers coming into, or travelling from, Nigeria the option of enjoying the award-winning Emirates experience.
We look forward to continue serving our customers in Nigeria, and to working with stakeholders to support the progressive development of tourism and trade.”
