Emirates confirms talks with Nigerian authorities as country halts flights

The carrier said it remained in 'close dialogue' as Lagos and Abuja services were suspended

Emirates said it is in talks with authorities in Nigeria to resolve a ban on flights to the country. Courtesy: Emirates

Emirates airline confirmed it was in talks with Nigerian authorities on Wednesday, after the African country halted the carrier's flights.

Services were suspended until further notice, after Nigeria's government protested against the airline's coronavirus policy that restricts some passengers from flying to Dubai.

Emirates had continued to fly to Lagos and Abuja in Nigeria until this week.

An airline spokeswoman on Wednesday told The National it was in talks with government officials in Abuja to resolve the matter.

“Emirates remains in close dialogue with the relevant regulators and authorities in Nigeria and we are fully committed to making progress on a resolution to ensure the continuation and expansion of our operations,” she said.

“Our highest priority continues to be the health and safety of our customers, employees, and the communities we serve both in Nigeria and across our network.”

James Odaudu, a spokesman for Nigeria's ministry of aviation, told news agency ICIR on Tuesday that Emirates' policy of bringing passengers into the country and not flying them back to the UAE could not continue.

Earlier this month, authorities in Dubai said the city would not allow travellers who had been in either South Africa or Nigeria to enter until at least March 20, to protect against the import of new variants of Covid-19.

The decision covered any UAE resident, tourist or transit passenger who had been in either country in the past 14 days.

Passengers were, at that time, still able to board flights in Dubai and fly to Nigeria.

The move came amid increasing concerns over new variants of Covid-19 that have emerged in South Africa and Nigeria.

The Nigerian variant, known as B.1.525, was first detected in November.

It spread rapidly, representing more than 20 per cent of Covid-19 genomes sequenced in Nigeria in the space of two months.

Earlier this month, an Emirates flight delivered nearly four million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine when it landed at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.

The Indian-made doses were donated under the Covax scheme, which provides free vaccines to developing nations.

Emirates is a key aviation partner in the Covax scheme.

Nigerian variant

The Nigerian variant carries both known and new mutations, which could increase transmission and virulence and dodge antibodies.

It shares the E484K mutation with the South African variant, which is believed to be more resistant to vaccination. .

Initial tests using antibodies produced by the Pfizer vaccine showed the South African variant did not substantially affect its efficacy.

However, a more recent study predicted greater problems, finding the strain was "markedly more resistant" to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, with a 10 to 12-fold reduction in neutralising antibodies.

The AstraZeneca vaccine offers as little as 10 per cent protection against developing mild to moderate symptoms against infection with the South African variant.

Tests using antibodies generated against the Sinopharm vaccine showed they were still able to neutralise the variant, although the effect was weaker than against the original virus.

Emirates delivers vaccines in Covax drive: