The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo on Thursday signaled support for a review of Nigeria’s air-services treaty with Germany and its Lufthansa airline brand.
Minister Keyamo welcomed plans by the Lufthansa Group to expand operations in the country- Africa’s most populous market.
A statement by Tunde Moshood, the Minister’s Special Adviser on Media and Communication said Keyamo met with a Lufthansa delegation led by Alexandra Dietzen‑Zill, senior manager for aeropolitical relations and traffic rights for the Lufthansa Group, and Walid Mahmud, a sales executive with Lufthansa Technik in Abuja.
Keyamo, a senior lawyer reaffirmed the government’s commitment to an aviation policy that attracts foreign investment and promotes connectivity, the statement said.
He assured the delegation that the ministry would engage constructively with operators seeking to increase their presence in Nigeria and work toward an updated framework to govern bilateral air services.
The statement said the discussion focused on updating and ratifying the 2010 bilateral air services agreement between Nigeria and Germany and on the group’s proposal to introduce Eurowings into the Nigerian market.
Dietzen‑Zill praised a series of reforms in Nigeria’s aviation sector, including the country’s accession to the Cape Town Convention, and described the measures as helping to restore investor confidence.
She told Minister Keyamo that Germany’s transport ministry is reviewing the existing bilateral pact with an eye toward revision and ratification.
Representatives of the Lufthansa Group said Eurowings intends to begin services to Nigeria next year using Boeing 737‑series aircraft, a move that would broaden direct connectivity between Nigerian cities and Germany.
The airline’s planned entry comes amid a broader push by international carriers to regain and expand routes across West Africa as demand recovers from pandemic disruptions.
The meeting further indicate the growing interest among European carriers in West Africa’s aviation market, where infrastructure upgrades and regulatory reforms are reshaping opportunities for international airlines.
