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Arik Air to suspend Abuja-Heathrow flights

Nigerian major commercial carrier, Arik Air, has yet again announced the suspension of flights between Heathrow and Abuja starting 25 March after talks between the … Continue reading Arik Air to suspend Abuja-Heathrow flights


Nigerian major commercial carrier, Arik Air, has yet again announced the suspension of flights between Heathrow and Abuja starting 25 March after talks between the British and Nigeria governments over bilateral air service agreements stalled yet again.

This is the second time Arik Air would suspend Heathrow-bound flights. In October, the airline had suspended flights to the UK only to restart them in December.

At the time Arik Air had said the suspension of flights was “due to a number of extraneous factors including operational considerations to support the regional programme ahead of the airline’s launch to new destinations in Benin, Burkina Faso and Mali on December 6”.

The pending suspension this time around, Arik Air says, is “following the inability of the UK and Nigeria governments to come to a solution on the 2008 Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) and access to slots in Heathrow in line with the frequencies agreed in the BASA.”

The UK airport authorities had disallowed Arik Air landing for its flights from Abuja into Heathrow, saying a private company was responsible for selling such slots. The airline alleged that it paid £1.4m to a private company, due to discrepancies in the agreement.

But the BASA agreement between the two countries does not indicate that slots would be sold to airlines from both sides.

The commercial carrier petitioned the National Assembly to intervene in the matter and bring about a resolution.

Arik had reinstated flights in December when UK authorities “facilitated the temporary continuation of the commercial lease of these slots in support of Arik Air’s Abuja-Heathrow operation.”

However, the “interim solutuion” was only available up until March 25.