Posted by Nkem Osuagwu on
Two American airlines have swelled the ranks of foreign airlines interested in starting operations in Nigeria.
Two American airlines have swelled the ranks of foreign airlines interested in starting operations in Nigeria.
Nigerian aviation authorities have started processing the necessary papers that will allow the American airlines - Delta and Continental Airways - to start operations to Nigeria soon. Already, Turkish Airline, Air Moroc and Qatar Airways, plan to start operations into the country before the end of this quarter.
Though no date has been fixed for the American airlines to start scheduled operations into the country, a senior official in the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (Faan) who confirmed the airline's plan said Faan is working towards allotting slots to the carriers to enable them to begin operations into Nigeria. This will eventually bring to three the number of American airlines that will be operating flights to Nigeria. North American Airlines (NAA) started scheduled flights into Nigeria on July 17 with just three flights a week from JFK Airport, New York to Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.
The heightened interest of American airlines on the nation's aviation industry, the source said, is due to the fact that Nigeria is one of the emerging markets in Africa. This is in addition to the improved security situations at the nation's airports.
The start of operations by these additional airlines will provide more choice to Nigerian travellers to America, some of whom had to connect their flights from European destinations, bearing the burden of extra cost of transit visas and longer travel time.
Nigeria and the United States signed an ‘Open Sky Agreement', which will allow unlimited number of airlines from each country to operate flights into each other's airspace.
The agreement signed between Nigeria and US partly states that each party should have the right to designate as many airlines as it wishes to conduct international air transportation or to withdraw or alter such designations. It however, states that the designated airline will have to meet the conditions prescribed under the laws and regulations normally applied to the operations of international air transportation by the party considering the application or applications.
Continental and Delta airlines are big carriers in the U.S. Both airlines are members of the SkyTeam Alliance. Other SkyTeam Alliance partners include Aeroflot Russian Airlines, Aeromexico, Air France, Alitalia, CSA Czech, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and others.
Continental Airlines also has alliances with more than 17 global airlines including Virgin Atlantic Airways and Emirates Airlines. Continental boasts a long and distinctive history that began on July 15, 1934 with a single-engine Lockheed aircraft on dusty runways in the American Southwest.