Nigeria, Saudi To Resume Joint Flights of $6trn Cargo Market

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has disclosed that cargo flight operations between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia are set to resume after years of inactivity.

Keyamo announced this via a post on his official X account.

The Aviation Minister discussed the resumption of cargo flight operations with Saleh Al-Jasser, Minister of Transport and Logistics of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on the sidelines of the ongoing Future Aviation Forum (FAF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The post further indicated that both sides agreed to resume cargo operations between both countries with focal persons appointed to work out the modalities.

Air cargo moves over $6 trillion worth of goods, representing approximately 35 per cent of world trade by value, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

“Yesterday, at the sidelines of the ongoing Future Aviation Forum (FAF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, I met my counterparts from the State of Qatar and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

“With the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the discussion was about the resumption of cargo flight operations between countries that had gone comatose over the years.

Both sides agreed to resume the operations and appointed focal persons to work out the modalities,” the post read in part.

Keyamo’s post on X noted that he met with Jassim Saif Ahmed AlSulaiti, Qatar’s Minister of Transport, at the Future Aviation Forum in Riyadh. They discussed implementing the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) and other mutual interests.

The minister has repeatedly emphasised that one of his main focuses is to review and ensure compliance with Nigeria’s BASA arrangements, as unfavourable agreements have negatively impacted Nigeria’s aviation sector.

He has repeatedly emphasised that one of his main focuses is to review and ensure compliance with Nigeria’s BASA arrangements, as unfavourable agreements have negatively impacted Nigeria’s aviation sector.