Nigerian
passengers heading for Dubai have had to make alternative arrangements
to arrive at their destination by making connecting flights through Abu
Dhabi and other destinations in the Middle East following a recent
announcement that Emirates Airlines had cancelled one of its twice-daily
flights to Dubai.
Emirates Airlines originally operated one
flight per day from Nigeria to Dubai, but increased the frequency to two
in response to an upsurge in passenger number.
Its management
explained some days ago that the reduction of scheduled flights was to
allow for the upgrade of the runway of its Dubai International Airport
terminal from May 1 till July 20, 2014.
There has been anxiety
about how the Nigerian passengers will cope with the reduction of the
flights, but findings by our correspondent revealed that the move had
had little effect on passenger traffic from the country.
A
businessman, who shuttles between Nigeria and Dubai, Mr. Timothy Adura,
said the reduction of daily flights made little difference to his
schedule.
“Actually, I heard the announcement sometime last week,
but it hasn’t changed anything much as far as I am concerned. As I have
told you, I am a businessman, and I try to cut cost as much as
possible; so, I actually make use of connecting flights through Abu
Dhabi, and they are usually much cheaper, I can tell you that.
“The
interesting thing is that I know a lot of people like me, who prefer to
fly other airlines that connect Dubai through Abu Dhabi, and if one
books for a flight much earlier, like I usually do, one can fly really
cheap; so the Emirates thing doesn’t affect me, I actually use Etihad or
Air Jordanian at times.”
The Managing Director, Gadeshire Travel
and Tours Limited, Mr. Gbenga Adebayo, said the reduction of flights by
Emirates could have posed some problems in the peak of the summer
period.
He added that since the runway repairs were billed to be
completed before the end of July, the reduction in flight would not have
much effect.
Adebayo said, “I think the issue is mainly about
rescheduling. Those who had earlier planned to go on the Emirates’
afternoon flight will just have to reschedule to an evening flight; it
is not a big deal. And since they claim that the repairs will be
completed by July 20, it is not an issue.
“I can also tell you
that prices to that destination have not increased as a result of the
reduction; so, it really doesn’t change much.”
The Publicity
Secretary, National Association of Nigerian Travel Agents, Mrs. Ngozi
Ngoka, said, “I can tell you that there has not been any price increment
on the route, and this is because there is a lot of competition on that
route. Nigerians going to Dubai always look out for the cheapest
tickets and they are comfortable going with connecting flights through
Abu Dhabi because the waiting period is very short.
“A lot of
airlines such as Qatar Airways, Air Jordanian, Etihad Air, Kenya Airways
and Ethiopian Airlines ply that route; so, competition is very healthy
there, which will make any unnecessary price increase difficult.”
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