The United Arab Emirates (UAE), flag carrier, Emirates flight has landed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos for the first time in two years.
The flight with number EK 783 touched down at the old terminals of the Murtala Muhammad International Airport (MMIA), Lagos at 3:32 pm, on Tuesday, October 1, 2024.
It was gathered the flight arrived with several empty seats, reflecting a subdued return to operations.
While the exact number of passengers on board could not be confirmed, passengers who spoke with our correspondent reported that the flight was not at full capacity.
“The flight was not full at all but as usual, the services were very good. And I think this is understandable being the first flight after many years,” said one passenger.
According to airport officials, departing passengers were processed through the newly opened terminal, while those arriving were directed to the Old Terminal.
The Boeing 777-300ER has a seating capacity of 392 passengers, but the sparse number of travelers on board suggests that the airline’s return to the Nigerian market will take some time to regain momentum after the extended hiatus.
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.
A Senior First Officer at Emirates, Moha Madugu expressed expressed his happiness on X, formerly Twitter, stating; “A great plane spotter got my landing into lagos today. Landed off an RNAV approach today as the ILS was on test. Watching this video you’ll realize the amount of work the Emirates training department does on their pilots. 😊 Alhamdulillah.”
Speaking on the development, a travel analyst, Mr Olumide Ohunayo, told Vanguard: “The departure of Emirates from their routes, those 21 flights a week affected 85 per cent to 90 per cent of their passengers who go to points beyond Dubai, beyond the UAE. It affected or contributed to the high rate of ticket fares on international routes.
“There was a large chunk of seats that was taken away by Emirates, and that reduced competition. The few airlines left capitalised on the fact that Emirates suspended operations. One of them was Qatar Airways and other airlines from Egypt and Morocco. All just used that opportunity to jack up their fares.
“Emirates pulled out and it affected the industry. There was a loss of revenue in the country’s aviation eco-chain. Everybody had that hit because Emirates was not there, from the agencies to the taxis, to the airport taxis, to the service providers, even the catering, everybody felt the pain of their departure.”