06/07/2013

“We have our airlines coming to Nigeria but we have problems now because we have not yet signed the BASA which is a simple thing.

This sentence has said by Joseph Habineza, the Rwandan Ambassador to Nigeria during a dinner to mark Rwanda’s 51st independence and 19th year of liberation on Thursday in Abuja.

Habineza has said that Rwanda is seeking to sign a Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) with Nigeria,  to facilitate trade and free movement between Nigeria and Rwanda.

 “Rwanda is seeking to sign a Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) with Nigeria to promote free movement of goods and services between the two countries”.

 RwandAir is currently spreading its wings accross West Africa. The airline serves Lagos and Accra (Ghana) and plans to add Abidjan (Ivory Coast) and Abuja (Nigeria), to its future network.

It would be interesting to know, if the airline is seeking to get 5th freedom rights, from Lagos to its current and future West African destinations. With a such agreement, RwandAir can fly from Rwanda to Nigeria without restriction, but also to sell tickets between Lagos and Accra per example.

Africans countries have often the reputation “to protect” their airspace. Talks promise to be very long.

(SOURCE : Leadership.ng : here)