Dubai-based airline Emirates is set to expand its presence in Nigeria with the start of a daily linked service to Abuja and Kano from August 1.

The announcement follows Emirates’ recent milestone of 10 years of successful operations to Lagos, to which the airline flies twice daily.

Abuja, located in the centre of the country, is a planned city built largely during the 1980s which replaced Lagos as Nigeria’s capital in 1991. It is the seat of the Federal Government and home to most of Nigeria’s institutions, including the Central Bank of Nigeria and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

Kano, the capital of Kano State in northern Nigeria, is the second most populous city in Nigeria after Lagos. The area is known for the production and export of groundnuts, which was a major source of Nigeria’s export earnings before the oil boom in the 1970s.

“Nigeria is experiencing strong demographic and economic growth. The country is strategic to Emirates’ global expansion, as is Africa,” said Thierry Antinori, Emirates executive vice president and chief commercial officer.

“With a daily linked service to Abuja and Kano, we will offer from three major cities in the country a very convenient and comfortable access to Dubai, and onwards to other destinations on the Emirates network, including more than 30 destinations in the Middle East and Asia Pacific, where we operate our popular Airbus A380 to 12 cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Sydney. The new service will also help create new opportunities for business, industry and tourism.”

The route will be serviced by an Airbus A340-500 offering a total of 258 seats in a three class configuration – 12 in First Class, 42 in Business Class and 204 in Economy Class.

Emirates SkyCargo will offer over 200 tonnes of cargo capacity per week, with main imports expected into Abuja and Kano being personal effects, clothing material and electronics, while exports include leather, kola nuts, spices and fresh meat.

Abuja will be the first stop on the linked service on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, and Kano will be the first stop on a Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. – TradeArabia News Service