Five years after suspension of flights on the the lucrative Houston-Lagos route, United Airlines has announced plans to operate the first-ever nonstop flight between Washington, D.C., and Lagos and offer more flights between D.C. and Africa than any other US carrier.
The airline while announcing November 29, 2021 as the new date for flight resumption between Washington and Lagos, however said this was subject to Nigerian government approval.
While the airline said it will operate three weekly flights connecting the U.S. capital to Nigeria’s largest city, which is also the top Western African destination for U.S-based travelers, it declared that tickets will be available for sale on united.com and the United app this weekend.
Commenting on the development, United’s vice president of international network and alliances, Patric Quayle: “This new flight to Lagos has been highly anticipated by our customers and offers the first-ever nonstop service between Washington, D.C., and Nigeria, as well as convenient, one-stop connections to over 80 destinations throughout the Americas including Houston and Chicago. On behalf of all of United, we’d like to offer our sincere thanks to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and U.S. Department of Transportation for supporting our plans to provide this service.”
United attributed its exit from Nigeria to Nigeria’s Central Bank of Nigeria’s foreign exchange policy which restricted the movement of foreign currencies abroad after the global slump in oil prices depleted the country’s foreign reserves.
For the acting vice president of airline business development at the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Carl Schultz: “We are honored to work with our partners at United Airlines to welcome their second nonstop connection from Dulles International to the African continent. Lagos joins nearly 50 other nonstop international destinations currently served by the National Capital Region’s gateway to the world.
“United will operate this route with a 787. This flight is the only service between the U.S. and Nigeria to offer the premium economy product. Flights will depart Washington, D.C. on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday and return from Lagos on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. United is the only U.S. airline to offer its own one-stop-shop where customers can conveniently get “travel-ready” by finding a location to schedule a COVID-19 test as well as upload and store their test results and vaccination records directly through the airline’s website and award-winning mobile app with the Travel-Ready Center.”
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