Nigeria has banned Emirates Airlines from operating flights into the country in what industry watchers described as a daring reciprocal action.
The Minister of Aviation, Mr. Hadi Sirika, announced the decision in a tweet Friday, saying the ban would take effect from Monday, September 21, 2020.
“Emirates Airline’s situation was reviewed and they are consequently included in the list of those not approved, with effect from Monday the 21st Sept. 2020,” he tweeted.
Although the reason for the ban was not expressly stated in the tweet, a report, which explained that “Nigeria operates a reciprocal aviation policy against countries that block Nigerians and Nigerian carriers from entering their airspace”, would appear to fill the gap created by failure to state reasons for the action in the tweet.
The minister also said the sub-committee of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 met with European Union Country Ambassadors to discuss the ban on Lufthansa, Air France and KLM.
“The meeting progressed well,” he tweeted.