The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has said it will investigate the alleged violation of the ban on international flight services by Emirates’ Airlines.
The Dubai-based mega carrier has allegedly been operating scheduled flights from Nigeria, claiming the flights were evacuation flights.
The airline is said to be planning to operate scheduled flights on July 14 and 19 tagged evacuations, where it will allegedly airlift Nigerians that wish to travel from the country and connect them to other international destinations from Dubai.
In one of the advertisements by the airline’s ticket sales agent, Tour Brokers, titled, “Fly Emirates Airline from Lagos to Dubai, London, and many more destinations” sighted by THISDAY, the message said: “Fly Emirates Airlines from London on the 19th of July, 2020 to Dubai, London, New York, Toronto, Paris and many more destinations. Contact us now for your ticket – Limited seats available.”
Evacuation flights are usually organised by the embassies and airlines are contacted to airlift evacuees.
But Emirates was said to have been organising and selling tickets.
THISDAY gathered that in the inbound and outbound flights, it is largely Nigerian citizens that are airlifted from Lagos and Abuja to Dubai and from the United Arab Emirates via Dubai to the two Nigerian major cities.
Another sales agent of Emirates, wakanow.com also advertised for the July 14 flight and had the message, “Travel update! Dear Customer, We are pleased to inform you that Emirates will operate an evacuation flight from Dubai to Abuja on 14th of July, 2020,” the message stated.
A top official of NCAA explained that following the ban on international flights, approvals for flights are secured from only the Ministry of Aviation – through the Minister or anyone so delegated by him.
According to him, it is after the approval is received that the NCAA and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) will be informed.
The source also noted that according to regulation, it is the NCAA that should be informed first to review the request and then advise the ministry to give approval or not.
“Maybe the approval came from the ministry. The regulation gives the minister the powers but the ministry should have to liaise with NCAA instead of dealing with the airlines directly. But it is after the approval has been received that NCAA and NAMA are informed,” the source said.
Spokesman of NCAA, Sam Adurogboye, however, told THISDAY that the flights would be investigated, noting that the regulatory authority ought to earn revenue from such flights.
According to him, such revenue is lost now that NCAA is bypassed, if the flight operations are true.
“We will investigate it further to know what is happening. We will definitely investigate it because if they are doing that it means they are denying us revenue,” Adurogboye said.
However, the spokesman of the Ministry of Aviation, James Odaudu, when contacted by THISDAY, denied that the ministry approved such flights.
“No airline has been given any approval to run scheduled international flights,” Odaudu said.
THISDAY
