The United Arab Emirates (UAE) says the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority‘s (NCAA) action to limit Emirates’ flights to once weekly is unjustifiable.
The letter dated December 10 was addressed to the Hadi Sirika, minister of aviation, and signed by Abdulla Bin Touq Al Mari, minister of economy and chairman of the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).
According to the letter, GCAA said the action taken by the NCAA regarding the Air Peace’s approval at Sharjah is “not in line with the spirit of the agreed air services arrangements between our two Nations.”
In a travel notice on its website yesterday evening, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) flag carrier said the suspension will start on Monday until when Nigeria and the Arab nation “solve the ongoing issue”.
Al Mari said Air Peace, which initially operated at Sharjah Airport, had shifted to Dubai Airport and then returned to Sharjah Airport, saying the airport authority cannot keep their slots after the airline left.
“It would be unreasonable for an airline to expect any airport to maintain their slots when they ceased operating at that airport,” the GCAA chairman said.