Ghana May Protest to Nigeria Over Air Services Agreement

Ghanaian authorities may soon make a formal protest to Nigeria over the recent concession granted by the Federal Government to Emirates, the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) airline, to operate scheduled flights between Dubai and Lagos through Accra.

The concession, which is referred to as "Fifth Freedom" in aviation parlance, is considered anuncommon generosity by the Aviation Minister, Mallam Isa Yuguda. various interpretations are being given the decision to grant such right to Emirates Airline.


The granting of such freedom, aviation watchers argue, is particularly suspect given the fact that the UAE carrier is just making its entry into the country.


Some aviation stakeholders are concerned that the minister did not consider that Ghana and Nigeria have a Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) which the "Fifth Freedom" concession to Emirates may have infringed.


With the freedom given to Emirates to include Ghana in its Lagos-Dubai route, the implication is that Ghana Airways stands to lose passengers to Emira-tes.


The concession to Emirates is also a major setback to Nigerian domestic airlines which also service the West coast.

Although no formal protest has been lodged to the Nigerian authorities, it was reliably learnt that Ghana, through its embassy in Nigeria, may do so soon.


The Ghanaian authorities may have been waiting for the formal commencement of flights by Emirates before lodging a complaint to the Nigerian government.


The airline which was billed to have its inaugural flight to Lagos on January 2 did not do so, however, until Wednesday.


The Executive Vice President, Commercial Operations Worldwide, of Emirates, Mr. Ghaith Al Ghaith, who confirmed the grant of Fifth Freedom to his airline said they were grateful to the Nigerian government for the gesture.


Speaking at a press conference to herald the inaugural flight of the airline on Wednesday, he said: "Emirates' new services are expected to boost business and tourism links between West Africa, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and the Middle East.

"They will facilitate investment in Nigeria and also strengthen cultural exchanges and understanding between this huge country and our region. Our new route will give our Nigerian customers four flights a week both to Lagos and to Dubai."


Emirates flies an Airbus A330-200 aircraft on the new route and offers three-cabin service, with 18 First class seats, 42 in Business class and 183 in Economy.


In addition to passenger services, Emirates Sky-Cargo also is making available up to 120 tons of cargo capacity per week to and from Lagos, which is Emirates' 74th destination in 52 countries and the 10th in Africa.


Ghana Airways earlier launched its services to Dubai.


However, it could not sustain operations on the route. Later, Ethiopian Airlines continued its services to Dubai from Accra and operated them via its hub, Addis Ababa.