Meet Kano-Born Pilot Who Flew First Emirates Flight Back To Nigeria After Two-Year Break
After a two-year break in operations, Emirates Airlines resumed flights to Nigeria on Tuesday, with Nigerian-born Captain Mohammed Madugu at the helm.
This significant return was marked by Capt. Madugu’s presence in the cockpit as the UAE’s flagship carrier touched down in Lagos.
Naija News reports that the Emirates had suspended flights to Lagos and Abuja in September 2022, due to an inability to repatriate trapped funds exceeding $80 million.
In addition to the flight suspension, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had imposed a visa ban on Nigerians, halting Nigerian-UAE flights, including services provided by Air Peace and other airlines.
Resolving this standoff became a priority for Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, with the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, playing a pivotal role in negotiations.
After the Nigerian government cleared approximately $900 million in trapped foreign airline funds and held several discussions with Emirates officials, the airline announced in May that it would resume flights on October 1st—coinciding with Nigeria’s Independence Day.
At 3:32 pm local time on October 1st, an Emirates Boeing 737-300ER landed at Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), symbolizing the airline’s return to Nigeria. In a remarkable gesture, Capt. Mohammed Madugu, a Nigerian, piloted the flight alongside his crew.
Capt. Madugu proudly shared a video of his landing on his X page, writing, “A great plane spotter got my landing into lagos today. Landed off an RNAV approach today as the ILS was on test. Watching this video you’ll realize the amount of work the Emirates training department does on their pilots. Alhamdulillah.”
Earlier, he had announced the honour of flying the inaugural return flight to Lagos, stating, “A very special day for me today, I have the honor of operating our inaugural return flight to Lagos, Nigeria @LOSairport . Today I’ll be flying both the Emirates and Nigerian flag very high ! Thank you, Emirates A flight time of slightly over 8hours today. #EkoOniBaje.”
Born on September 21, 1996, in Kano, Capt. Madugu was once the youngest captain in Nigeria’s airline industry while flying for Azman Airline.
He attended Corona School in Apapa, Laurel International School in FESTAC Town, and the Nigerian Turkish International College before pursuing his pilot training abroad.
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