Arik Air to suspend Abuja- London Heathrow flights

Arik Air has announced the suspension of flight between London Heathrow and Abuja starting 25 March due to Bilateral air service un agreement between British and Nigerian Government.  The pending suspension this time around, Arik Air says, is “following the inability of the UK and Nigeria governments to come to a solution on the 2008 Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) and access to slots in Heathrow in line with the frequencies agreed in the BASA.”  The UK airport authorities had disallowed Arik Air landing for its flights from Abuja into Heathrow, saying a private company was responsible for selling such slots. The airline alleged that it paid £1.4m to a private company, due to discrepancies in the agreement.

But the BASA agreement between the two countries does not indicate that slots would be sold to airlines from both sides.