Sade Williams
Emirates and Air Peace have activated a bilateral interline agreement that expands air connectivity between West Africa, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom, as international and regional carriers seek to deepen partnerships in high-growth African markets.
Under the agreement, passengers on both airlines can travel on a single ticket with through-checked baggage across selected routes, allowing for smoother connections between Air Peace’s regional network and Emirates’ long-haul services.
The arrangement extends Emirates’ reach beyond Nigeria’s 13 cities already served via Air Peace to additional West African destinations, including Banjul and Dakar via Abidjan, and Freetown and Monrovia via Accra. The move strengthens Lagos’s role as a regional transfer point while improving access to Emirates’ global network.
The agreement links Air Peace’s West and Central African operations more closely to Emirates’ hub in Dubai and onward services to key international markets, including London Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. Demand between Nigeria and the UK remains among the strongest long-haul travel flows from West Africa, making network access and schedule flexibility commercially significant for both carriers.
Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ deputy president and chief commercial officer, said the expanded interline partnership would allow the airline to increase its African footprint while supporting tourism and trade flows through Nigeria. He added that Emirates viewed partnerships with regional carriers as central to its Africa growth strategy.
Nowel Ngala, chief commercial officer of Air Peace, described the agreement as part of the airline’s broader effort to improve Africa’s integration into global aviation networks, combining regional scale with long-haul connectivity.
Emirates currently operates a Boeing 777-300ER on the Dubai–Lagos route, one of its key West African services. Air Peace, which operates a fleet of more than 50 aircraft, serves an expanding mix of domestic, regional and international destinations, positioning itself as a major player in intra-African connectivity.
The partnership comes as African airlines increasingly rely on interline and codeshare arrangements to overcome structural constraints such as limited long-haul capacity, fragmented markets and high operating costs, while global carriers look to secure feeder traffic from fast-growing regional networks.
Tickets under the interline agreement are available through the airlines’ respective booking platforms and travel agents.
