The federal government has disclosed plan to explore direct flight operations to the South American countries just as the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development affirmed that Nigeria remains the most unique geographically place nation to become the central hub for air transportation on Africa continent.
Mr. Festus Keyamo expressed Nigerian government’s commitment to increasing the capacity of local airlines as part of measures to address the imbalance in domestic airlines inability to service routes that are dominated by foreign airlines connecting Nigeria to other countries.
Speaking at the on-going International Route Development Conference themed ‘Network Cargo 2024’ in Moscow, Russia, Keyamo said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is focused on strengthening Nigeria’s domestic aviation sector, ensuring that local operators benefit from the nation’s air traffic.
He stated, “Geographically, we are in the best position to be the real hub of Africa. If you look at the map, we are equidistant to South America across the Atlantic, to Europe, and to Asia. We are about 6 to 7 hours to Doha, Dubai, and Brazil. With our population, we have the dream to develop a real hub for Africa.”
The Minister announced Nigeria’s plans to expand its international routes, with a particular focus on establishing direct connections to South America, specifically Brazil saying “It is ironic that to fly to Brazil from Nigeria, one has to first travel east to Addis Ababa or go to Angola before heading west. We are working to open up direct routes from Nigeria to South America, addressing this gap in our aviation connectivity,”