Uduegbunam ChukwujamaEmirates Airlines has had its Winter Flight Schedule of 21 weekly passenger flight frequencies to Nigeria slashed to one, because the United Arab Emirates failed to approve Air Peace Airlines’ application for three weekly flights in the spirit of reciprocity.
The Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Musa Nuhu, who disclosed this in a statement he made available to Prime Business Africa on Friday night, said Nigeria had to apply the principle of reciprocity to withdraw the approval of the winter schedule given to Emirates Airlines and instead approved one weekly flight frequency to Abuja on Thursday. The DG of NCAA has already notified the Country Manager of Emirates Airlines and his UAE counterpart, the DG of the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) of this development.
According to Nuhu, the UAE airline had, following the lifting of ban on Emirates Airlines passenger flights to Nigeria by government, applied to the Federal Ministry of Aviation for approval of its Winter Flight Schedule consisting of 21 weekly passenger flight frequencies to Nigeria comprising two daily flights to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos and one daily flight to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. The Honourable Minister graciously approved the Winter Schedule as requested, without hinderance or arrival slots requirements, in the spirit and intent of the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) between Nigeria and the UAE. The DG/CEO of NCAA, however, noted that Air Peace Airlines, the only Nigerian airline that operates passenger flights to the Sharjah International Airport in UAE, requested for only three weekly passenger flight frequencies and was granted only one weekly passenger flight frequency, as the Director-General of UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority gave the excuse that Arrival Slots were not available at the Sharjah International Airport.
Bilateral Air Services Agreement between countries, according to Nuhu, are based on the principle of reciprocity for transparency and fairness to both sides. “While Nigeria authorities approved the request of Emirates Airlines, UAE authorities acted in total disregard of the terms and provisions of the BASA between the two countries by approving one out of three weekly passenger flight frequencies requested by Air Peace Airlines. The DG NCAA held a series of meetings with his GCAA (UAE) counterpart at the sidelines of the ICAO Air Negotiation Conference (ICAN) in Bogota, Colombia which all ended in stalemates.”
Nuhu said that, having applied the principle of reciprocity, “We want to assure the public that national interests in all Aviation matters will be jealously guarded while regretting any inconvenience this action might cause”
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