The Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos is poised to become a major hub for international airlines, according to Dr. Ibrahim Kana, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development.
He made the remarks on Tuesday night during the official launch of Ethiopian Airlines’ second daily flight service to Lagos.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Kana praised Ethiopian Airlines for increasing its Lagos-bound operations to 14 weekly flights, describing it as a significant step toward positioning Lagos as a key aviation center.
“For us in Nigeria and the Ministry of Aviation, our dream is to see that Lagos becomes a hub and, in no distant future, I can guarantee you that where we are standing here will be a hub for many airlines. The drive is to make Lagos the capital of Africa in terms of business and commerce, and that we can achieve through aviation and aerospace activities. All other airlines that want to fly into Nigeria are welcome. We also have other international airports such as Abuja airport, Port Harcourt airport and, indeed, Kano airport. These airports are open for all international airlines,” he said.
Dr. Kana also noted that the ministry promptly approved Ethiopian Airlines’ request to double its daily flights to and from Lagos.
Firiehiwot Mekonnen, the Area Manager of Ethiopian Airlines in Nigeria, emphasized the airline’s commitment to offering more flexible and affordable options for Nigerian travelers.
“This additional flight brings Ethiopian Airlines frequency in Nigeria to 31 weekly flights from all stations – Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Enugu. Fourteen weekly flights to/from Lagos with early morning, mid-day and evening departures make Ethiopian Airlines the most preferred by passengers for its flexible and convenient options,” she said. “With this second daily flight, we can connect all of our 66 African destinations within 12 hours of flight time. There will be no need for layovers as there are instant connections available to Asia, Middle East, India, Africa and to the rest of 150 global destinations.”
Encouraging travelers to take advantage of the expanded service, Ms. Mekonnen stated, “With this, ET (Ethiopian Airlines) is willing and able to partner and support travel and tourism in Nigeria. We have also offered to support inbound and outbound tourism in Nigeria. In the coming months, ET will unfold its plan to support tourism in Nigeria with the recent success of Detty December, Carnival Calabar, Ojude Oba and Durbar festivals in Nigeria.”
She expressed gratitude to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo (SAN), and other regulatory authorities for their continued support.
The outbound flight from Lagos departed with 147 passengers in economy class and eight in business class, while the inbound flight from Addis Ababa carried 114 economy passengers and one business class passenger—highlighting strong patronage by Nigerian travelers. The aircraft’s arrival in Lagos was marked with a traditional water cannon salute.
Officials from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, and Skyway Aviation Handling Company were in attendance at the event.
