ANTIGUA AND Barbuda made history as it welcomed its first-ever commercial flight from Africa to the Caribbean.
Antigua Airways’ inaugural flight, which is operated by Portuguese charter company EuroAtlantic Airways, landed on the tropical island at 9:30am (1:30pm GMT) yesterday.
The Prime Minister of A&B, Gaston Browne, boasted just hours earlier that critics said that flight “could not be done”.
“Once again, they were proven wrong. Antigua Airways lands tomorrow!” he wrote on Facebook.
The historic flight departed Lagos, Nigeria on Monday (1st November) at 4:20 am and made the 12-hour journey with 100 passengers on board.
The CEO of Euro Atlantic Airways, Eugenio Fernandez; Founding President of the Nigeria Antigua and Barbuda Chamber of Commerce; Emmanuel Samson, and Managing Director of Antigua Airways, Opeyemi Olorunfemi were just some of the passengers a part of the landmark moment.
The flight’s landing was met with a water cannon salute as it arrived in the capital St. Johns where top Nigerian dignitaries were greeted by the island’s government officials, including Tourism Minister Charles Fernandez, Foreign Affairs Minister Chet Greene, Ambassador Johan Hesse, and CEO of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority, Colin James.
Minister Fernandez and Minister Greene both called for creating deeper links with Nigeria and the continent, because of their shared history in the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
They said that “although our ancestors were once forced to travel to these waters, many will now get the chance to do so freely while rebuilding both nations’ economies that were impaired by the Covid-19 pandemic”.
The new airline is reported to be a major step forward in strengthening links with Africa with the company setting out plans to be the first to launch scheduled international flights between Accra, Ghana and Toronto, Canada. The return flight from Antigua is expected to depart at 7:50 pm on November 7 and arrive in Lagos at 5 am the next day.
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While the 🐕 🐶 🐕 bark, the WAGON ROLLS ON 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩
A PR disaster for Gaston Browne.
Could you tell me,how much it costs the taxpayers of Antigua and Barbuda for the 20% shares in Antigua “Bogus” Airways.We surely have money to throw down a latrine/cesspool hole. Then there is no money left to pay Civil Servants and Pensioners.
They need to get the African end sorted out. Up to now, nobody outside of Nigeria can get any information about these flights.
Africans are quite interested in coming to the Caribbean via 🇦🇬, but are frustrated in not being able to make any contact with anyone in Nigeria connected with the airline.
This does have the potential to be a major conduit for African travelers to save time, money and visa hassles by no longer having to first travel to Europe.
Too much conflicting information. Is this a Commercial flight with regularly scheduled arrivals and departures or is it a charter flight and how often is the charter going to run for?
There also seems to be some confusion with some passengers on that flight not having or at the very least not being aware of where their accommodations are.
Even the departure dates are varying with passengers articulating that they are departing on November 6th whilst the article here states the 7th.
Come on, at least that should be consistent.
This is a charter not a commercial flight.
Gaston Browne used our brothers and sisters from Nigeria to score political points but it back-fired.
What a PR Disaster
@***** November 3, 2022 At 1:41 pm
Commercial Business means an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers (e.g. retail, corporation, LLC, or sole proprietorship) …
What is the difference whether the plane is a charter or owned. The business is engaged in providing a service. Makes it a commercial flight. It has nothing to do with the way the ends are reached. Actually, many airlines these days will not fly certain routes if they do not have enough passengers, they will charter another airline to make the trip for them. Therefore, don’t be surprised if you book a flight to a long-haul destination with one known airline and end up being booked on a charter airline. They are all trying to save money. Why would two half empty airlines go the same route, when one can do it.
Mami_Wata and Papa_Elegba sent their son #Jumbee_Picknee a message, through their rattling bones🦴🦴🦴🦴and it says…
A…these are ABLP Obeah Posse coming to work ABLP Obeah.
B…Greene(r u see fu he face inna de picture), is being thrown under the Big Red Bus🚎by Gaston, as he tries to get rid of his main rival in the ABLP. Allegedly, some cement boots👢👢and ankle chains ⛓⛓⛓have being custom made, to drop Greene’s Jumbee in the Niger River sending it to Hades Gate.
Jumbee_Picknee
Time will tell🙏🏾🤐
It’s really amazing…… They used tax payers money to buy *fresh* water boat to operate in Sea water….and to build an invisible bathroom at Yasco and some said not a word……..
Now we saw an Airplane flew from African to Antigua right before our eyes 👀, we still asking about,” If it’s Chartered or if owned ? PROMISE MADE PROMISE KEPT. 🙏🏾🇦🇬🙏🏾
Yes a Promise made to fools is not hard to keep. How does this benefit our economy? 100 Africans that can’t even pay for the lowest tier of accommodations. Is this the best use of our country’s resources?
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