The political back and forth between Nigeria and the UAE continues to twist and turn. On Monday this week, Nigerian passengers were reportedly offloaded from a Dubai-bound Ethiopian Airlines flight, amid claims that the UAE has stopped all airlines from flying Nigerians to the country. No official word has come from the UAE, but local sources say that no Nigerians will be allowed to enter the country.
The drama between the UAE and Nigeria has taken a new turn today, as local publications are reporting a complete ban on all Nigerian travelers from entering the country. The Middle East nation is reported to have turned away Nigerians heading for Dubai, and to have advised airlines not to carry these passengers to the country.
As reported by the Daily Trust on Monday, a number of Nigerian travelers who had boarded an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Dubai were offloaded from the plane. This, the report claims, came amid news that the UAE had banned Nigerians from entering the country. A source told the publication,
“UAE says no entry for Nigerian passengers from any airline. Ethiopian just offloaded all passengers heading to Dubai. We are voiding Dubai-bound tickets.”
With Emirates banned on and off from flying to Nigeria, locals have had to find other ways of connecting to Dubai. This has seen passengers making one-stop trips on a variety of carriers, including Egypt Air, Air France, KLM, Ethiopian Airlines, Rwanda Air and Etihad. Now, it seems they will not be allowed to enter, even if they are boarding these alternative airlines.
While there has been no official communication from the UAE on this matter, it is telling that the incident occurred just hours after Nigeria’s latest round of restrictions on Emirates took effect.
The political tit for tat between Nigeria and the UAE has been rumbling on for some time. Caught in the middle, unfortunately for them, are the UAE’s flag carrier Emirates, to whom Nigeria is an important market. Also suffering is Nigerian airline Air Peace who is keen to restart its itinerary to Sharjah.
Emirates has struggled to service Nigeria for many months. A row over testing protocols erupted in February, culminating in Emirates being banned from the country by the Federal Government in late March. Efforts to resume flying were unfruitful, as the UAE added Nigeria to its ‘red list’ of travelers.
In June, Dubai announced that Nigerians could travel to the UAE once again, albeit with testing protocols in place. However, days later, that decision was reversed. The situation was complex, with both sides wanting the other to relax their requirements simultaneously, and neither managing to wholly comply.
Finally, an agreement on testing was established between the two countries, and Emirates prepared to restart its services. A week last Sunday, on December 5th, the Middle East airline finally landed back in Nigeria, with a warm welcome at both Abuja and Lagos. However, the truce was not set to last very long.
Over in the UAE, Air Peace had not secured the slots it wanted to operate its Sharjah service again. Rather than the three weekly rotations it was operating pre-COVID, the airport said it could only provide one. In response to this news, Nigeria told Emirates it too would only be allowed a once-a-week service to the country. Predictably, Emirates reacted by suspending its flights less than a week after they restarted.
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