The United Arab Emirates is planning to remove the visa ban on Nigerian nationals, Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has revealed.
The travel ban from UAE to Nigeria and 19 other African countries was enforced in October 2022.
A month later, Emirates Airlines also suspended flights to Nigeria over a problem related to ticket sales fund, VisaGuide.World report.
However, according to Nigerian Minister Keyamo, the visa issue has now been established.
As cited by the Punch newspaper, he said that an official announcement is expected to be made in the upcoming weeks.
The issue of visa has been resolved, just the announcement remains. They want to dot the I’s and cross the T’s. The announcement will be made in a couple of weeks.
Festus Keyamo, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development
Minister Keyamo said that the UAE is considered an important ally in Nigeria, underscoring Nigerians’ investments in this country.
Among other things, he also noted that authorities are working to reopen the route and make the visa application process easier for Nigerian citizens.
Emirates Airlines to Restart Flights to Nigeria from October 1, 2024
In addition to the lift of the travel ban, Emirates Airlines will resume flights to Nigeria starting on October 1, 2024, as revealed in a statement released on May 2024.
More specifically, this air carrier will operate a daily flight between Lagos and Dubai.
Regarding this announcement, the Emirates’ Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer, Adnan Kazim, expressed gratitude to the Nigerian government for their cooperation and support on this issue.
We are excited to resume our services to Nigeria. The Lagos-Dubai service has traditionally been popular with customers in Nigeria, and we hope to reconnect leisure and business travellers to Dubai and onwards to our network of over 140 destinations.
Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer
UAE Implements Stricter Controls for Travelers
Although planning to ease travel for Nigerians, the UAE authorities have introduced stricter checks at the UAE airports following an increased number of detentions in these airports.
In 2023, more than 134 million passengers passed through the UAE airports, officials from the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) have revealed.
This figure is expected to rise in 2024, as authorities aim to welcome 140 million passengers.
Source: https://visaguide.world/news/uae-plans-to-remove-visa-ban-for-nigeria/
