Emirates Airlines has cancelled its Lagos-Dubai and Abuja-Dubai flights till further notice amidst confusion over recent spat with the Federal Government following alleged violation of the COVID-19 protocols.
Daily Trust reports that the Federal Government through the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 had slammed a ban on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) based carriers for asking Nigerian passengers to undergo Rapid Antigen Test (RTD).
The PTF had frowned at the development, saying it violated the FG’s protocol which requires passengers to provide negative COVID-19 test certificate.
To this end, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) in a letter announced the ban on Emirates outbound flights on Thursday.
However, the ban was lifted on Friday after the UAE government reportedly withdrew the RDT requirement which paved way for the operation of the Emirates’ flights from Lagos and Abuja on Friday.
But on Saturday, the airline announced the cancellation of the two flights (Lagos-Dubai, EK784 and Abuja-Dubai, Ek786) through a memo to its trade partners, citing operational reasons.
Similarly on Sunday, the flights were similarly cancelled on Sunday according to the message sent to the trade partners.
The mail read: “We wish to inform you that due to operational reasons, our flights LOS-DXB (EK784) and ABV-DXB (EK786) from Sunday 07th February, 2021 have been cancelled till further notice.
“DXB-LOS (EK783) and DXB-ABV (EK785) will however operate to bring incoming passengers on 07 February 2021.
“For passengers affected kindly apply re-booking options provided in our COVID-19 waiver policy previously communicated.
“We hope to revert to you as soon as possible, regarding the status of our future flights.
“As always, we thank you for your continued support. If you require any further assistance please contact us.”
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