With the last hurdle scaled, Nigeria’s largest commercial airline Arik Air is set to launch a non-stop Lagos-New York flight Sunday, the airline said in a statement here.
An issued raised by the US Customs and Border Protection Monday had threatened to delay the take-off of the company’s first transatlantic route.
‘We are happy to inform our numerous guests that we have put the matter behind us and we would launch Lagos-New York JFK services on Sunday, November 29, 2009,’ airline Managing Director Jason Holt said.
The launch of the flight will make Arik Air the first Nigerian airline in a decade to fly direct between Lagos and New York.
The new route will be Arik Air’s third international service outside of the West Africa region, following the commencement of daily flights to London Heathrow in December 2008 and to Johannesburg, South Africa, in June 2009.
The new Lagos-New York service will operate three times a week,. with outbound flights departing Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, while inbound flights will depart New York’s John F. Kennedy In ternational Airport on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Arik Air is Nigeria’s leading commercial airline, operating a fleet of 30 state-of-the art regional, medium haul and long haul aircraft.
From its hubs in Lagos and Abuja, the airline currently serves 21 airports across Nigeria as well as Accra (Ghana), Banjul (Gambia), Cotonou (Benin), Dakar (Senegal), Freetown (Sierra Leone), Niamey (Niger), London Heathrow (UK) and Johannesburg (South Africa).