Atedo Peterside
Nigerian entrepreneur and economist, Atedo Peterside, has stated that the closure of Niger Republic airspace will lead to an increase in the cost of flights from Nigeria to Europe.
The military junta in Niger Republic over the weekend, closed the country’s airspace, warning that any attempt to violate it would meet with an “energetic and immediate response”.
This is coming after the deadline given by the West African bloc, ECOWAS for the junta to hand back power to the democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum expired.
The junta said in a statement;
“Faced with the threat of intervention, which is becoming clearer through the preparation of neighbouring countries, Niger’s airspace is closed from this day on Sunday… for all aircraft until further notice."
Reacting to the development, Peterside pointed that this development will increase the cost of flights from Nigeria to Europe.
He also stated that if Burkina Faso and Mali also join in closing their airspace, the inbound and outbound flights from Nigerian to Europe will be extremely high.