The Federal Government has announced discussions with the Spanish Government to resume direct flights between Nigeria and Spain and revive Nigeria’s Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA).
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, shared this on his official X account on Sunday, stating that he met with Spain’s Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Mr. Oscar Puente, in Madrid last week.
Keyamo noted that Senator Abdulfatai Buhari, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Aviation; Hon. Abdullahi Idris Garba, Chairman of the House Committee on Aviation; and Umar Ahmed Farouk, Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, accompanied him at the meeting.
“Earlier in the week, I met with my counterpart in Spain, the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility of Spain, Mr. Oscar Puente, in Madrid. High on the agenda of our discussions was the revival of our BASA with Spain and the resumption of direct flights between Nigeria and Spain,” Keyamo’s post read in part.
This announcement comes barely a month after the Aviation Minister announced that Nigerian airlines will soon launch direct flights to America and South America, marking the first-ever direct flights between Nigeria and South America.
What you should know
Over the past few months, the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, has been actively working to revive inactive flight routes to Nigeria and reestablish direct routes.
Last month, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, announced that local airlines will soon launch direct flights to America and South America, marking the first-ever direct flights between Nigeria and South America. He highlighted that these local airlines will be recognized as Nigeria’s flag carriers, not just private businesses.
Prior to Keyamo’s announcement, President Bola Tinubu and his Brazilian counterpart, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, discussed the potential of establishing direct flights between Nigeria and Brazil.
Both Presidents had this discussion during a meeting on February 18, 2024, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, President Lula da Silva stressed the need for formal discussions to address the absence of direct flights between Lagos and Sao Paulo.
“It is meaningless that there are no direct flights from Lagos to Sao Paulo and vice versa. I cannot understand that. We have to sit at a table and find a solution for that. In aviation, there are many areas of potential collaboration with our manufacturers who seek to have a greater presence in Africa,” President Lula da Silva had stated.
Also, in May 2024, Keyamo disclosed that cargo flight operations between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia are set to resume after years of inactivity, with both countries appointing focal persons to work out the details.
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