Federal Government Signs Codeshare Agreement with Canada for Seamless Flight Operations
Festus Keyamo, Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, has signed a codeshare Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) with Canadian authorities, aimed at facilitating smooth flight operations between the two countries.
A codeshare agreement is a common practice in the aviation industry, where two or more airlines cooperate by marketing the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number. In this arrangement, one airline operates the flight, while the seats are sold by all participating airlines using their own designators and flight numbers.
During the signing ceremony, Minister Keyamo clarified that the agreement is not a full bilateral agreement. He mentioned that Nigeria would designate airline operators to enhance the partnership. The minister further explained that while his Canadian counterpart had already signed part of the agreement, he chose to sign the agreement in Nigeria to reduce costs, emphasizing that the deal would strengthen the relationship between the two nations.
Dr. Ibrahim Abubakar Kana, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, highlighted that Nigeria holds the highest economic partnership in Africa with Canada, and the new agreement will be mutually beneficial for both countries.
In his remarks, the Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Pasquale Salvaggio, expressed the Canadian government’s commitment to working with Nigeria to strengthen bilateral agreements, underscoring the importance of the new codeshare arrangement.
