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Tag: United Arab Emirates

  • Festus Keyamo to join Tinubu in UAE, to resolve Emirates flight suspension, visa ban on Nigerians

    Festus Keyamo to join Tinubu in UAE, to resolve Emirates flight suspension, visa ban on Nigerians

    The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo SAN, is set to depart Nigeria tonight to the United Arab Emirates, where he is expected to join President Bola Tinubu and other government functionaries in a bid to resolve the Emirates Airline flight suspension to Nigeria, visa ban and other diplomatic issues.

    Following the diplomatic rows between Nigeria and the UAE, the Emirates’ airlines suspended its flight operations into the country and placed a visa ban on Nigerians.

    In 2009, the UAE established its embassy in Nigeria. In December 2020, a memorandum of understanding was executed between Nigeria and the UAE to provide a platform for both countries to engage bilaterally.

    Recall that in February 2021, the Federal Government of Nigeria stopped the UAE national carrier, Emirates airline from subjecting Nigerian travelers to additional rapid antigen test, as against its stipulated negative PCR test at the Lagos and Abuja airports before departure.

    Emirates airline shut down flights to and from Nigeria owing to the disagreement between the airline and the Nigerian Aviation Authorities on the propriety of subjecting passengers travelling from Nigeria to emergency COVID-19 protocols.

    Flights resumed subsequently, after an interface between the airline and the Ministry of Aviation. However, Emirates airline continued conducting test for passengers before departure from Nigeria, a development the Federal Government frowned at and suspended the airline from flying to and from Nigeria.

    Following this development, there have been allegations that some legal resident Nigerians living in UAE lost their jobs on account of the refusal of the authorities to renew their work permit, which offends the letter of bilateral agreements both nations are signatories to. Amidst speculations that the actions of the UAE authorities are attempts aimed at putting the Nigerian Government under pressure to accept their conditions of service for their national airline that may have lost revenue from the Nigeria route, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development will be meeting with President Tinubu and other government functionaries at the UAE to resolve the Emirates airline flight suspension and Visa ban issues affecting Nigerians.

  • Emirates Airlines suspends all flight operations in Nigeria

    Emirates Airlines suspends all flight operations in Nigeria

    Emirate Airlines has announced that it would suspend operations in Nigeria starting from September 1, 2022.

    The decision by Emirates Airlines to stop operations in Nigeria was announced via a statement on Thursday morning in Lagos.

    At least, $600 million from over 20 foreign airlines has been blocked in Nigeria since the beginning of the year.

    Emirates had about two weeks ago said that out of these funds, it had about $85 million in Nigeria.

    Recall that the airline had issues with repatriating trapped tickets sales funds in Nigeria back to United Arab Emirates (UAE)

    The airline had on Monday cut its 11 weekly frequencies into Lagos Airport to just seven.

    A statement by the media consultant to the airline in Nigeria alleged that all efforts to repatriate the funds had proved abortive and it was compelled to decide on suspending all flights into the country.

    The airline’s statement on Thursday said: ”Emirates has tried every avenue to address our ongoing challenges in repatriating funds from Nigeria, and we have made considerable efforts to initiate dialogue with the relevant authorities for their urgent intervention to help find a viable solution.

    ”Regrettably, there has been no progress. Therefore, Emirates has taken the difficult decision to suspend all flights to and from Nigeria, effective September 1, 2022, to limit further losses and impact on our operational costs that continue to accumulate in the market.

    ”We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to our customers, however, the circumstances are beyond our control at this stage. We will be working to help impacted customers make alternative travel arrangements wherever possible.

    ”Should there be any positive developments in the coming days regarding Emirates’ blocked funds in Nigeria, we will of course re-evaluate our decision. We remain keen to serve Nigeria, and our operations provide much-needed connectivity for Nigerian travelers, providing access to trade and tourism opportunities to Dubai and our broader network of over 130 destinations.”The emirate

    Following the high cost of aviation fuel, and astronomical charges recently introduced by aviation agencies, international airlines have increased airfares by 100 percent, a development that has adversely affected domestic and international flight services in the country.

    The airlines include major international carriers like Air France, KLM, Delta Air Lines, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, and Emirates Airlines, among others.

  • Hackers ‘to leak’ emails of UAE ambassador to US

    Hackers ‘to leak’ emails of UAE ambassador to US

    A computer hacking group that calls itself “GlobalLeaks” has reportedly said it plans to release emails taken from the inbox of Yousef al-Otaiba, the ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the United States.

    The Daily Beast reported on Friday that it had been approached by the hackers, who offered a sample of the emails they said demonstrated “how a small rich country/company used lobbyists to hurt American interests and those of it allies”.

    The group said the leaks “reveal how millions of dollars were used to hurt [the] reputation of American allies and cause policy changes”.

    The leakers said they plan to publish the material themselves on Saturday, the report said.

    According to the Daily Beast, the hackers said the documents had been provided to them by a paid whistle-blower in a Washington, DC lobbying group and contained emails from Otaiba’s Hotmail account.

    It also said the sample provided included several emails between Otaiba and Robert Gates, former US defence secretary in the administrations of George Bush and Barack Obama.

    Otaiba is well-known figure in US national security circles – he has been called “the most charming man in Washington” – and has participated in Pentagon strategy meetings at the invitation of the defence officials.

    Khalil Jahshan, executive director of the Arab Center in Washington, DC, said depending on the substance of the emails, the leak could prove to be “very embarrassing” for the UAE, “particularly if it … reveals any new information pertaining to the source of the hacking that took pace of Qatar News Agency (QNA)”.

    The news of the potential leak comes as the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is believed to be helping Qatar investigate the source of a cyberattack that has led to diplomatic tension among Arab Gulf countries.

    An FBI team has been in Doha for the past week after the Qatari government asked the US for help following a security breach by hackers last month who posted fake remarks on its QNA official media platform.