Delta Air Lines Inc. has resumed flight operations at Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport to pre-pandemic level.
Flight operations between Lagos and New York-JFK are scheduled four times weekly.
The flight from New York-JFK joins Delta’s existing daily service to Atlanta, which restarted last September following a short suspension due to the airport’s closure at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The airline said the choice of nonstop services to its largest hubs enable customers to connect onto flights to 130 destinations across the United States within four hours of arrival in either Atlanta or New York.
Delta flies Airbus A330-200 aircraft to Nigeria, which include Delta One business class, complete with fully flat-bed seats and aisle access for all, as well as Delta Comfort+ and Main Cabin, according to a statement on Monday.
The Delta Air Lines Commercial Director, Africa, Bobby Bryan, said “Delta is the longest-serving US airline in Nigeria and the country remains an important market for us.
“Facilitating trade as well as providing valuable air links for families and friends to re-connect is key to our mission here in Nigeria and around the globe. Never has this been more important as the world recovers from the pandemic.”
According to the statement, the additional service from New York also provides cargo customers with increased capacity for the safe transportation of cargo from Nigeria.
It said with short connection times in New York, cargo could be swiftly forwarded to destinations throughout the US and beyond.
Delta’s flights to Lagos, which have been in operation since 2007, support the continued economic and trade ties between Nigeria and the US.
Data from the Office of the US Trade Representative shows that the value of US goods and services trade with Nigeria totaled an estimated $10.4bn in 2019 with exports valued at $5.3bn and imports into the US worth $5.1bn. US foreign direct investment in Nigeria (stock), meanwhile, was $5.5bn in 2019, a 21.5 per cent increase from 2018.
Customers traveling between Nigeria and the US are encouraged to review entry requirements prior to travel.
