TheCable

Emirates Airlines, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates, has cancelled its flights scheduled to fly to Lagos on Monday and Tuesday.

In a notice published on its website, the airline said the flights were cancelled because of bad weather in Lagos.

Flight operations were disrupted at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport with British Airways and Delta Airways diverting Lagos-bound flights to Accra, Ghana.

“Due to poor weather and low visibility in Lagos, the following Emirates flights have been cancelled on 17th and 18th February: EK781/EK782: Dubai – Lagos – Dubai EK783/EK784: Dubai – Lagos – Dubai,” the airline said.

“Affected passengers in Dubai can opt to travel to Abuja as an alternate sector or return to their journey start point if holding valid return tickets.

“Passengers booked or connecting in Dubai onto flights to Lagos will not be accepted for travel at the point of origin.

“Affected customers are advised to contact their travel agent or Emirates booking office to make changes to their bookings.”

However, Henrietta Yakubu, spokesperson for the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), told TheCable that some international airlines have been landing at the Lagos airport.

“This is to inform all our esteemed customers who have had the difficulty in reaching their various destinations through our flights that the current challenge is due to inclement weather,” Arik Air said in an advisory published on its website.

“This poor and persistent weather condition has mostly affected our Port-Harcourt, Kaduna, Warri, Asaba, Yola and Sokoto routes. We are notifying our passengers there may be flight delays and in some extreme cases cancellations.”

Other domestic airlines including Aero Contractors, Azman, Dana Air and Max Air published similar advisories.

In a February 13 statement, Hadi Sirika, the minister of aviation, said a Lagos-bound Qatar Airways flight was diverted to Abuja.