Etihad Airways To Fly Nigerian Route

United Arab Emirates (UAE) airline, Etihad Aiways has secured approval from the Federal Government to commence flight operations to Nigeria from July 1,this year.

The operations of the airline bring to three the number of airlines from UAE to Nigeria. The two other carriers are Emirates and Qatar.

The six weekly flights from its hub in Abu Dhabi to Lagos will be operated by a two class A330-200 aircraft with 22 Pearl Business class and 240 Coral Economy seats.

The service to Lagos will be the carrier’s first destination in West Africa and the 83rd in its global network.

Following the launch of services to Seychelles in November 2011, Tripoli last month and Nairobi in April, the addition of Nigeria marks another milestone in Etihad Airways’ African expansion plan.

Etihad Airways President and Chief Executive, James Hogan said “the launch of services to Lagos is consistent with our strategy of targeting areas of strong growth in emerging markets.

“The United Arab Emirates is a major trade partner of Nigeria, which has a population of more than 150 million people, the largest in Africa and the seventh biggest in the world.

“The country is rich in natural resources, such as oil and natural gas. Our new point-to-point services will strengthen the oil and gas link between the UAE and Nigeria and facilitate further growth in these countries.