Almost two years after suspending operations in Nigeria, Emirates Airlines has announced that it will resume flights on October 1, 2024.

In a statement on Thursday, the airline said it would resume daily service between Lagos and Dubai within five months. 

“Emirates will resume services to Nigeria from 1 October 2024, operating a daily service between Lagos and Dubai, and offering customers more choice and connectivity from Nigeria’s largest city to, and through, Dubai,” the statement said. 

It added, “The service will be operated using a Boeing 777-300ER. EK783 will depart Dubai at 0945hrs, arriving in Lagos at 1520hrs; the return flight EK784 will leave Lagos at 1730hrs and arrives in Dubai at 0510hrs the next day.”

Emirates’ deputy president and chief commercial officer, Adnan Kazim, commended the Nigerian government for re-establishing the route. 

“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.  

“We thank the Nigerian government for their partnership and support in re-establishing this route and we look forward to welcoming passengers back onboard,” Mr Kazim said.

Nigeria’s aviation minister Festus Keyamo described Emirates’ statement as the anticipated “big announcement.”

“Now, the big announcement we have all been waiting for has been officially made by Emirates Airlines,” Mr Keyamo tweeted on Thursday, sharing an Emirates press release. 

October will mark exactly two years since the airline suspended operations in Nigeria. Emirates suspended operations in Nigeria in October 2022 over its trapped tapped in the country that could not be repatriated.