Emirates to resume passenger flights to Lagos and Abuja from next week

The two new routes to Nigeria will take the Dubai airline's African network to 13 destinations

Emirates will resume passenger services to Nigerian cities Lagos and Abuja. Courtesy Emirates 

Emirates will resume passenger services to Nigerian cities Lagos and Abuja next week.

The resumption of flights to both cities takes Emirates's African network to 13 destinations, as the airline works to safely reinstate its routes following the shutdown due to coronavirus, with a number of new health and safety measures in place.

Flights to Lagos will resume on Monday, September 7 and will operate four times a week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Flights to and from Abuja will operate as a daily service from Wednesday, September 9. Tickets are open for booking on emirates.com or via travel agents.

Passengers travelling from both cities in Nigeria to the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific can connect via Dubai. They can also visit the emirate as a tourist.

Covid-19 PCR tests are mandatory for all inbound and transit passengers arriving to Dubai (and the UAE), including UAE citizens, residents and tourists, irrespective of the country they are coming from.

Emirates gradually resuming operations

The airline most recently announced it was resuming flights to Amman and Thailand, as well as five cities in Africa – Conakry in Guinea, Dakar in Senegal, Accra in Ghana, Abidjan on the Ivory Coast and Lusaka, Zambia's capital.

Travellers must show a negative Covid-19 PCR test certificate before being accepted on any Emirates flight arriving or transiting in Dubai. These tests results cannot be substituted for laser test results or any other type of test.

Last month, Emirates' chief operating officer, Adel Al Redha, said the airline hopes to have its full network of 143 destinations operational by summer next year.

Free Covid-19 travel protection

Emirates is offering free cover for Covid-19 related costs to all travellers on any flight departing between now and October 31, 2020.

Valid for 31 days from the first sector of each journey, it covers travellers for medical costs, quarantine expenses and repatriation costs if they are diagnosed with the virus when travelling.

The cover does not extend to Covid-19 tests and all travellers flying to the UAE must be tested for the virus before flying, from approved clinics where available. Some visitors will undergo secondary tests for the virus at Dubai International Airport.

Passengers leaving Dubai for Europe, or to any destination where it is mandatory, will also need to take another Covid-19 test before they can board a flight.

All travellers are advised to check the latest requirements for their country of origin and their intended destination regularly before travelling because rules and restrictions can change with very little notice.