Source: BUSINESS DAY
Emirates has introduced free transit visas for Nigerian passengers transiting through Dubai on its flight. In a recent email message to its passengers, Emirates said, “We are pleased to offer 48 or 96-hour UAE visas to our passengers purchasing tickets during the month of November.”
BusinessDay findings show that those eligible for the visas are only passengers traveling on the Emirates flight from Nigeria.
Bankole Bernard, the Group Managing Director (GMD), Finchglow Holdings, a holding company for six travel companies in Nigeria told BusinessDay that the introduction of the free transit visas is simply to lure passengers to book Emirates tickets because the airline hasn’t been getting passengers since it resumed flight operations into Nigeria.
“What they have to do further is to relax the visa rules. People have moved on. Emirates is feeling the heat and they may still feel it more if UAE fails to relax its visa rules. They have to study their comeback to know which way they have to go.
“Emirates need to readjust themselves. They are also hard on the travel agencies,” Bernard said. Recalled that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) flag carrier Emirates resumed flight operations into Nigeria on October 1.
This is coming two years after the suspension of operation by the airline over several issues including unresolved trapped funds belonging to the airline.
Before its flight resumption, BusinessDay had earlier reported that the airline recorded low bookings.
Apart from competition arising from other foreign airlines which had since benefited from the absence of Emirates on the Nigerian route, travel agents and stakeholders in the aviation sector have attributed the low passenger turnout to the stringent visa requirements imposed on Nigerians and the airline’s dollarised tickets.
A Nigerian passport holder applicant is expected to provide a proof of six months bank statement with a minimum balance of $10,000 (about N16 million) in his or her account before applying for a UAE visa.
For Nigerian citizens with valid United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Schengen visas on their passports, the rule may be a bit liberal on them.
Also, Nigerians with green passports are mandated to provide round-trip flight tickets and proof of hotel booking before applying for the UAE visa.
Besides, Nigerian applicants are to also obtain a Document Verification Number (DVN), which the UAE said was to authenticate and verify documentation essential for visa applications to the UAE.
UAE unveiled different types of visas for Nigerians with diverse fees, ranging from N150,000 to N270,000.
For a transit visa, a Nigerian passport holder is expected to pay the sum of N150,000 for, a tourist visa for 14 days; N200,000 for, a tourist visa for 30 days; N250,000 for and tourist visa for 60 days would pay the sum of N270,000.
A source close to Emirates told BusinessDay that Emirates is very patient with the Nigerian market and trusts its strong brand. Before Emirates suspended flight operations into Nigeria, it had the largest frequencies with 14 weekly flights into Lagos.
Emirates carries an average of 350 passengers per flight. For 14 flights from Dubai to Lagos, the airline carries 4,900 passengers. To operate a return flight, the airline carried an average of 9,800 passengers weekly on the Dubai-Lagos route.
Since Emirates suspended flight operations in Nigeria, its 9,800 Lagos passengers have had to jostle for flights on Ethiopian Airlines, Egypt Air, Etihad, and Rwanda which connected passengers to Dubai.
THE AUTHOR: Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha
