By Emmanuel Nduka
Obviously angered by the latest directive of the Nigerian Government to cut its incoming flights from 21 a week to one, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has directed international carriers to stop flying Nigerian passengers into Dubai.
International Airline Operators flying into Nigeria, confirmed the directive from UAE Government on Monday.
The new directive is not unconnected to the diplomatic row between Nigeria and the UAE. The UAE had claimed that more Nigerians were testing positive to COVID-19.
Emerging reports from Monday indicates that airlines had started rejecting Nigerian passengers going to Dubai. Ethiopian Airlines, Turkish Air and others, which airlift Nigerian via their operational hubs to Dubai, are among those already turning back Nigerian passengers.
An official of one of the airlines told THISDAY that the airline would not airlift Nigerians whose final destination is the UAE, insisting that they had been directed not to airlift Nigerian passport holders to Dubai.
“UAE says no entry for Nigerian passengers from any airline. Ethiopian just offloaded all passengers heading to Dubai. We are voiding Dubai bound tickets,” a source at Abuja airport confirmed.
“Due to an increasing number of COVID-19 positive passengers at destination, it is decided to suspend accepting passengers to UAE from Nigeria, Congo DRC (FIH) only. This is effective today, 13th December, 2021,” A directive from one of the airlines stated,
“Today they have to offload Dubai passengers. So no airline wants to carry Nigerian passengers to Dubai. They said Nigerians are testing positive to COVID-19; that is why some airlines are not carrying them. It is just like they did the last time,” another source close to Ethiopian Airlines informed.
It would be recalled that the Nigerian Government last Thursday cut Emirates 21 flights a week to just one flight to Abuja in response to UAE allocating only one flight a week to Air Peace, a Nigeria’s only carrier to the Arab nation.
