Nigeria to commence direct air flights to Algeria

The Federal Government is about to finalize plans to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Algeria for a direct aircraft route between the two nations in a few months, which is an exciting development for global connectivity. This was said by Hon. Festus Keyamo, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, when he recently hosted a group from Algeria, led by the ambassador of Algeria to Nigeria, in his office.

“Yet Nigeria has maintained a bilateral air service agreement (BASA) with Algeria for many years,” stated Keyamo. We haven’t, however, been abused of the arrangement. In actuality, the routes between Algiers and Lagos are specified in that agreement. Fortunately, the connection is synergistic for both countries.

He clarified that in order to revitalize the BASA, which hasn’t been utilized in a long time, the Algerian team has been in contact with Nigeria in recent weeks to request the reopening of the route between Algiers and Lagos.

“Today, they have come with a memorandum of understanding that outlines their desire to include Abuja in their route and, in exchange for our flying with our local airline, Oran, the second-largest city in Algeria, as part of their efforts to open up the sky in Africa.”

Furthermore, he said, “We have insisted that those who come to us for such an agreement understand that one of this administration’s main priorities is to protect our local airline operators and to promote and protect their businesses.” We brought up the issue of reciprocity with our local operators, and they kindly agreed.

“As a government, we will examine this Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) promptly. We don’t have any significant concerns with it, but we must expeditiously navigate the customary bureaucratic procedures.”

“We are going to set a day for the signing, either here in Nigeria or at an international forum,” he declared. We are overjoyed to see Air Algeria return to Nigerian territory. For the benefit of Nigeria, we want competition and a decrease in the cost of airline tickets. This is a mutually beneficial relationship that benefits both Algeria and Nigeria.

“You can’t have a tied partnership if you do not have a direct flight between the two countries,” stated Algeria’s ambassador, His Excellency, Mr. Hocine Latli, who also served as the delegation’s leader. “Today we are trying to solve this problem of direct flight and restart the dynamic partnership and cooperation between the two countries, especially in the next few months.”

Thus, he said, “it is significant that we have come to an agreement today that the Hon. Minister of Aviation and Aerospace has approved the launch of direct flights from Algiers to Nigeria.”

In a separate development, Barrister Mrs. Mfon Ekong Usoro, the president of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT), presented Hon. Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Festus Keyamo with a chartered fellow of the organization, welcoming him to his post. An invitation to the institute’s conference in November of this year was sent to the Minister as well.

The Minister accepted and stated that the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development is eager to collaborate with CILT on safety and infrastructure development. He added that CILT was one institute that he had been admiring from a distance.The Federal Government is about to finalize plans to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Algeria for a direct aircraft route between the two nations in a few months, which is an exciting development for global connectivity. This was said by Hon. Festus Keyamo, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, when he recently hosted a group from Algeria, led by the ambassador of Algeria to Nigeria, in his office.