Arik Air, West and Central Africa’s largest carrier is extending its Abuja-Accra service to Dakar, Senegal from March 24, 2015. Similarly, the Lagos-Dakar service will be strengthened to six weekly flights with a new thrice weekly Lagos-Accra-Dakar service.

The Abuja-Accra-Dakar service which was first introduced in February 2014 was suspended in the wake of the Ebola disease outbreak in July 2014. Though the Abuja-Accra service is a daily service, the extension to Dakar will operate thrice weekly on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

The Lagos-Accra-Dakar service departs Lagos at 7.50 pm (local time) and arrives in Accra at 7:50 pm (local time). The flight continues to Dakar, departing Accra at 8:35 pm (local time) arriving in Dakar at 11:50 pm (local time). The inbound flight departs Dakar at 2:15 am (local time) and arrives in Accra at 5:30 am (local time). At 6:15 am, the flight departs Accra and arrives in Lagos at 8:15 am.

The Abuja-Accra flight retains its original schedule of 5:00 pm (local time) departure out of Abuja and 5:30 pm (local time) arrival in Accra. The inbound flight departs Accra at 6:00 am (local time) and arrives in Abuja at 8:50 pm (local time).

As a result of these developments, Arik Air will be creating a scissors hub in Accra where passengers from Lagos and Abuja can connect direct to Dakar, Senegal. Also, Arik Air will be only carrier offering non-stop service to Dakar from Accra.

Arik Air Deputy Managing Director/Senior Vice President, Operations, Captain Ado Sanusi commented “As the dominant commercial airline in West and Central Africa, Arik Air is always seeking to strengthen its services in the region to give guests comfort and value for money. We are ready to provide greater choice and a convenient, accessible network to our valued guests in the West Coast of Africa.”

Arik Air (www.arikair.com) is Nigeria and West Africa’s largest airline and operates mainly from two hubs at Murtala Mohammed Airport Lagos and NnamdiAzikiwe International Airport Abuja.

It operates a fleet of 28 state-of-the art regional, medium haul and long haul aircraft including two Airbus A340-500 making the airline the first operator of the wide bodied aircraft in Africa.