ANOTHER batch of British citizens will be evacuated from Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos on Friday 1 and Tuesday 5 May following yesterday’s evacuation of 185 Britons from Nigeria via the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja yesterday Tuesday 28 April, 2020.
This evacuation flight, a British Airways Boeing 747 Flight, BA9154 with Registration number G-CIVO arrived NAIA at 1353 hours with 13 crew members and departed at 1544hours.
In total the British High Commission says it has repatriated over 1,100 individuals from Nigeria since the international airports were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic .
The British High Commission team will be on hand at both venues ready to support British nationals. The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, will join the facilitation team at Abuja Airport to support British nationals returning to the UK. The Deputy British High Commissioner, Harriet Thompson, will join colleagues to support passengers in Lagos.
Laing present at the evacuation from Abuja said:  “I am again here at Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport today to see off British visitors who were stranded here when the airports closed. I am delighted to be able to wave-off more flights from Nigeria returning stranded British nationals back to the UK. I’m very grateful to all the thousands of British travellers who have contacted us over the last few days for their patience and support to help us get to this moment.
“My team in the British High Commission in Abuja and the Deputy High Commission in Lagos has been working around the clock to secure these flights. I am delighted to see so many more people excited to return home to their families and friends.
“I want offer a huge thank you to the Nigerian government for their support and assistance in arranging these flights. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Aviation, the FCT and Lagos State authorities have been incredibly helpful and accommodating throughout this process. We are continuing to work the Nigerian authorities and the airlines to secure further flights, which will help the many other British nationals who also wish to return home get there. The strong cooperation we have had from our Nigerian partners demonstrates very tangibly the strong bonds between our two countries.
After today’s flight will depart on Tuesday 28 April from Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja at around 1535 today. A further two flights will depart from Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos on Friday 1 and Tuesday 5 May. All flights are bound for London Heathrow Term
According to the UK Travel advisory, the cost of the flights is £491 from Abuja and £504 from Lagos and to be eligible to book these flights, the traveller must be normally resident in the UK. British nationals (and their immediate dependents) normally resident in the UK are being prioritized for these flights.
