Federal Gov’t Signs Codeshare Pact For Smooth Flight Operations With Canada

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, on behalf of the Nigerian Government has signed a codeshare Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) with Canadian authorities that would facilitate smooth flight operations between the two countries.

LEADERSHIP investigation showed that codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the “airline flight code”) as part of their published timetable or schedule.

Typically, a flight is operated by one airline while seats are sold for the flight by all cooperating airlines using their own designator and flight number.

At the signing ceremony, the minister said the agreement was not a full bilateral agreement.

He stated that Nigeria will designate airline operators to enhance this agreement.

The minister further states that his counterpart in Canada had signed part of the bilateral agreement but in order to save cost, he is signing the agreement in Nigeria, noting that the agreement will go a long way to further strengthen the relationship between Canada and Nigeria.

Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Dr. Ibrahim Abubakar Kana stated that Nigeria has the highest economic partnership in Africa with Canada, noting that the agreement will be beneficial to both countries.

In his response, the Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Pasquale Salvaggio expressed the Canadian government’s readiness to always work with Nigeria in strengthening bilateral agreements.