Arik Air recently operated a scheduled Lagos-New York flight, staffed by Nigerian crew.
The flight was the result of almost three years of preparation, during which time the airline received the Part 129 approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and was also awarded the Extended Range Twin Operations (ETOPS) approval.
Arik commenced direct flight operations from Lagos to New York in November 2009, the first direct flight between Nigeria and the United States to be operated by a Nigerian airline in the last decade.
With the ETOPS approval, Arik has the flexibility of either of its two variations of wide–body aircraft for the Lagos-New York services. The airline has two A340-500s and two A330-200 in its fleet of 26 aircraft.