Emirates tackles AON on subsidy claims

United Arab Emirates (UAE) carrier, Emirates, on Monday faulted the claim of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) that it enjoys subsidies from the Federal Government and therefore in unfair competition.

In a statement, the carrier said the allegations are patently false, adding that it had repeatedly debunked these myths over the years.

It also clarified the status of its flight frequency into Nigeria saying it only operates daily flights into Lagos and Abuja Airports respectively.

It said it was not granted any increase in flight frequency into Abuja as claimed by AON but an arrangement to cater to the needs of passengers travelling for Hajj.

“Some detractors like to claim that Emirates receives government subsidies and therefore represent unfair competition. These allegations are patently false, and we have repeatedly debunked these myths over the years. Our audited financial reports for the past 20 years are published on our website for anyone to inspect.

“Emirates has always been run on a commercial basis. In fact, our success is driven by the very fact that we must stand on our own feet which means we must keep winning over customers with the best possible services, while closely watching our costs so that we can return a profit to our shareholder,” it said.

It said its double daily flight from Lagos to Dubai and the single daily flight from Abuja to Dubai only took effect in July 27 and will run till August 22 in response to demand for Hajj.

It said: “Emirates would like to clarify that we have not increased scheduled flight services to Abuja or Lagos.”