Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates are set to deepen aviation cooperation following high-level discussions between Nigeria's Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, and senior executives of Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi on Friday, 21 August 2026 — with Etihad signalling preparations to resume direct services to Lagos ahead of a planned return by late March 2027.
The Abu Dhabi talks form part of Keyamo's broader international engagement strategy to expand Nigeria's aviation bilateral relationships and attract additional foreign carrier capacity — a priority reflecting the government's recognition that Nigeria's 90-95 per cent dependence on foreign carriers for international passenger traffic requires active diplomatic and commercial engagement.
Etihad's Nigeria Strategy
Etihad Airways previously operated services to Lagos before withdrawing from the route amid the foreign exchange challenges that made Nigerian aviation commercially difficult for international carriers in 2023 and 2024. The airline's preparation to return reflects improved confidence in Nigeria's foreign exchange environment following the CBN's liberalisation of the FX market and resolution of the significant airline FX backlog that had accumulated under the previous policy framework.
The Etihad-Air Peace interline agreement signed earlier in 2026 was the commercial precursor to this return — establishing the distribution relationship that will allow Etihad's Lagos operations to access passengers from across Nigeria's domestic network from day one, rather than relying solely on the point-to-point Lagos-Abu Dhabi market. Abu Dhabi is a significant connecting hub for Nigerian passengers travelling to Asian destinations, Australia, and parts of Europe.
UAE-Nigeria Aviation Framework
Beyond Etihad's specific return, the Abu Dhabi talks covered the broader UAE-Nigeria aviation cooperation framework — including the bilateral air services agreement governing capacity, frequencies, and traffic rights between the two countries. The UAE is home to a large Nigerian expatriate community and is a major destination for Nigerian business and leisure travellers, as well as a key transit hub for connections across the Gulf region and to Asian markets. Strengthening the aviation framework creates conditions for additional UAE carrier capacity — potentially including Emirates and Air Arabia — as well as for Nigerian carriers to access the UAE market under expanded bilateral terms.
