Agreement allows multiple airlines to operate scheduled services, with 14 weekly passenger and 10 cargo flights permitted.
Nigeria and Canada have signed an expanded air transport agreement that paves the way for direct scheduled flights between both countries while strengthening trade, tourism, investment and educational exchanges.
The agreement was signed in Abuja following a Nigeria-Canada Air Transport Expansion Technical Review Worksession, during which both sides reviewed the existing Bilateral Air Services framework and reached an agreement on expanded operations.
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, was represented at the signing by the Director of Air Transport Management in the ministry, Mohammed Tijjani, who signed the agreement alongside Canada’s Chief Air Negotiator for Global Affairs Canada, Shendra Melia.
The agreement allows Nigeria and Canada to designate multiple airlines to operate scheduled passenger and cargo services between the two countries.
It provides for up to 14 weekly passenger flights and 10 weekly all-cargo flights for designated airlines of each country.
The agreement also grants Fifth Freedom Traffic Rights for all-cargo operations, allowing cargo carriers to transport freight between two foreign countries where the service originates or terminates in the airline’s home country.
According to a statement signed by the minister’s Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Tunde Moshood, the agreement is expected to improve air connectivity, reduce travel time and logistics costs, and create new opportunities for airlines and businesses in both countries.
The ministry said the development would also support tourism, business travel, investment, educational exchanges and family reunification, particularly given the growing Nigerian community in Canada.
It noted that more than 25,000 Nigerians held valid Canadian study permits as of March 31, 2026, making Nigeria one of Canada’s major sources of international students.
The Nigerian delegation at the negotiations included senior officials from the Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, while Canada’s delegation comprised officials from Global Affairs Canada and Transport Canada.
The ministry said the original Nigeria-Canada Air Transport Agreement was negotiated in 2014 as a code-share-only arrangement and formally signed in March 2025.
The latest agreement represents the first major expansion of the bilateral air services framework since its initial negotiation more than a decade ago.