Six days after suspending flights to many of its destinations worldwide, the flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Emirates Airlines, has resumed services to Nigeria.

The flight touched down at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, at 4:47 pm on Friday with many stranded Nigerian passengers.

However, The Guardian gathered that the flight may not be a regular one. Still, there are indications that the airline will continue to operate skeletal services to many of its destinations, including Nigeria, until the crisis ends.

Nigerians, like many citizens around the world, were stranded in numerous countries following the outbreak of war between Israel and the United States on one side and Iran on the other on Saturday, February 28, 2026.

The war led to the closure of airspace in the Middle East.

The Gulf carriers, Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways, had suspended operations to many destinations.

As of the time of filing this report, Qatar Airways had yet to resume flight services to its over 170 destinations, but feelers gathered by The Guardian indicated that the airline may, at any moment from now, resume services to many countries, including Nigeria.

Emirates arrived at Lagos airport on Friday with its Boeing 777-300ER at full capacity.

Staff of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), and Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), among other agencies, were on the ground to witness the airline’s return to Nigeria.

Earlier, after it suspended operations, Emirates said it was actively monitoring developments and engaging with relevant authorities, and on Tuesday started skeletal flights to Dubai.

The airline urged customers to check its travel updates and flight status pages before heading to the airport.

The airline, in its latest message to its trade partners (travel agencies) in Nigeria on Thursday, said: “We will be operating Dubai-Lagos–Dubai flight (EK783 & EK784) flight tomorrow 6th March (Friday) 2026.”

The airline stated that the resumption of flights presents a unique opportunity for customers to travel.

It also encouraged passengers to take advantage of this availability to book promptly, as demand is expected to be high.

“Emirates continues to monitor the situation, and we will develop our operational schedule accordingly.

“The latest flight updates will be published on our website,” the airline added.

Besides, in an update to its travel partners in Nigeria on Friday, Qatar Airways said its scheduled flight operations remained temporarily suspended due to the closure of Qatari airspace.

The statement added: “Qatar Airways will resume operations once the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority announces the safe reopening of Qatari airspace by the relevant authorities.

“A further update will be provided on 7 March by 09:00 Doha time (06:00 UTC).”