Emirates Airline will suspend its service between Dubai and Abuja starting October 30, a company spokesman said on Wednesday.

The airline will continue to serve Nigeria with a daily flight to and from the country’s most populous city, Lagos, he said.


The announcement comes just a day after Emirates president Tim Clark said the airline could reduce the frequency of flights to Africa or cut them altogether because of persistent financial challenges on a continent that has seen steep currency declines.

Emirates, which had already cut its daily flights to Lagos and Abuja to one a day from two, said last month it had started refueling its daily flight to Abuja in Accra, Ghana.

The decision to stop flights to and from Abuja was made “after a review of the airline’s operations to ensure the best utilisation of its aircraft fleet for its overall business objectives,” Emirates’ spokesman said.