DUBAI // Emirates Airline has completed its first daily service to Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, the state news agency Wam reported.
The first flight landed at Abuja’s Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on Friday. The service is the airline’s 26th destination in Africa and 144th worldwide.
Abuja is Emirates’ second destination in Nigeria. Services to Lagos launched in 2004.
“This new daily flight provides a convenient point-to-point service for our customers between Abuja and Dubai, and it will meet and further stimulate a vibrant market demand between the two cities,” said Adil Al Ghaith, Emirates vice president for commercial operations in northern and western Africa.
“With a fast-growing company, Nigeria is a key market for Emirates.”
Emirates currently flies twice daily to Lagos, flying more than 12,000 seats per week to Nigeria, the airline said. The value of bilateral trade between the UAE and Nigeria was estimated at US$857 million in 2009, up from $106m in 2004, according to the Ministry of Economy, Wam said.
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