United Airlines returns to Nigeria in November five years after exit

United Airlines is the first and only airline serving Washington, D.C. nonstop from Lagos.

United Airlines is returning to Lagos airspace in November five years after its voluntary exit.

The return of the airline was disclosed by Nigerian Aviation Handling Company, (NAHCO ) Plc, in a statement.

According to NAHCO, it would be handling contracts for United States-based United Airlines for the next three years, adding that it is the preferred partner, providing passenger and ground handling services.

The airline exited Nigeria following challenges with crashed oil prices and a flailing economy. The Lagos – Houston route which was once a favourite especially for oil sector workers and executives has suffered a major decline in patronage.

In addition, airlines operating in Nigeria at the time faced a hard time with foreign exchange restrictions.

Prince Saheed Lasisi, NAHCO’s group executive director, Business Development and Commercial, who expressed excitement on the feat while making the announcement, described it as a boost for the industry, ‘’NAHCO is excited to be the chosen one, we welcome United Airlines back to our airspace, and we are ever ready to provide the airline quality handling at all times, as being currently provided to our numerous client airlines’’.

In the same vein, the company recently signed a five-year contract with Qatar Airways in Abuja, as well as renewed the Lagos contract for another five years.

According to Prince Lasisi, ‘’with the new contracts, which run for five years and coupled with the additional frequencies of Qatar flights to Nigeria and Ghana, we are glad to go even further to provide the top-notch services for which we are known and have offered the airline for the past nine years’’.

The renewed contracts cover all service areas, as it will see NAHCO provide passenger, cargo, and ground handling services to Qatar Airways. It also includes the provision of crew transportation and other ancillary services to the respected airliner.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.