Nigerian Govt Considers Restricting British Airways From Lagos Airport

“The local operators are struggling to cover their routes locally, not to talk of our international routes; Air France is coming here 10 times a week, we are not going to Paris, Lufthansa is coming here, we are not going to Frankfurt, Delta and United from America are all coming here, but we are not reciprocating.

Currently, Nigeria’s leading airline, Air Peace, is compelled to operate flights to Gatwick Airport instead of Heathrow, the UK’s primary airport.

Keyamo highlighted the disparity in international flight operations, noting that many international airlines such as Air France, Lufthansa, Delta, and United Airlines operate multiple flights to Nigeria, while Nigerian airlines are not reciprocating these routes.

Speaking at the 28th Annual Conference of the League of Airports and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) in Lagos, Keyamo argued that it was unjust to allow British Airways unrestricted access to Nigeria’s busiest airport, MMIA, while Nigerian airlines were not granted the same privileges in the UK under the BASA agreement.

The Minister said, “We have already written to the United Kingdom to give Nigerian carriers, especially Air Peace Heathrow Airport, which is a tier one airport, just as we have British Airways, using our Lagos airport.

Keyamo criticized the notion of a “slot committee,” urging the UK to recognize and respect existing bilateral agreements..

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