Lagos Nigeria, 29 February, 2016:Eighty years ago a largely unreported event
took place which would help pave the way for modern air services between
Nigeria and the rest of the world.
On 9 February
1936 the weekly Imperial Airways’ flight from London to Khartoum connected with
another flight to Kano, heralding the start of services to Nigeria.
These pioneering
flights carried air mail rather than passengers, but apparently the initiative
was successful, because by October the same year the service was extended to
Lagos.
The limited records
available from the time note that there was great enthusiasm shown everywhere
the first service landed. According to Imperial Airways’ staff newsletter from
3 March 1936: “… the captain of Daedalus (the
name of the aircraft) was entertained by Sultans, Shehus and Emirs en
route.”
There were
plenty of opportunities to celebrate the new service as the De Havilland DH86A
biplane took seven days to complete the journey to Lagos.
Today Imperial
Airways’ successor, British Airways operates daily, direct Boeing 747 and 777 services
to Lagos and Abuja.
“It’s amazing to
think that in just 80 years we were operating biplanes that could carry seven
passengers and it would take a week to complete the journey. Today’s aircraft
can carry between 226and299 customers and you can be in London five-and-a-half
hours after leaving Lagos or Abuja,” says Paolo De Renzis, British Airways head
of sales for Middle East, Africa and Central Asia.
The onboard
experience has also evolved beyond all recognition. The early aircraft were
noisy, uncomfortable and more suited to carrying mail than passengers.
In-flight entertainment might have been a newspaper or magazine and the
catering a selection of sandwiches.
Today’s
customers can choose from four cabins, an in-flight entertainment system that
has more movies, serials, sitcoms and documentaries than they could watch in a
week, while enjoying a three-course meal and full bar service.
In Club World
they can help themselves to snacks from the Club Kitchen, while those flying in
First can choose when they want to eat and even if they’d prefer the a la carte
menu or something a little less formal.
“We have a
distinguished history in Nigeria and 80 years on we’re proud to still serve it,
connecting Africa’s largest economy to the rest of the world,” says De Renzis.
British Airways
offers daily flights from Lagos and Abuja to London, from where it flies to
some 200 destinations in nearly 90 countries.
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