Direct flights between Canada and Nigeria will soon be possible thanks to an expanded bilateral air travel agreement coming into effect next year. The news is generating excitement among B.C. business owners who rely on imported good from the West African nation—and those in the broader Nigerian diaspora community, who will soon be able to travel to the motherland to see family and friends without waiting long hours for connecting flights. It also means getting access to cultural food staples at half the time it requires now. John Atoyebi, a lawyer and the president of African-Canadian Agricultural Producers Cooperative, says the lack of direct flights from Nigeria has sometimes impacted food freshness. “I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard people say the yams they were trying to import into Canada got spoiled along the way because of the time it takes to get here,” Atoyebi said. Yams are an essential part of the African diaspora diet, with the ones farmed and harvested in Nigeria accounting for roughly 70 per cent of global production—and there are other culturally significant foods imported, including corns that’s are distinct in texture and flavour from the sweeter North American varieties. “Some of these things cannot survive lengthy travel before they get into the country,” Atoyebi said. The travel deal will see multiple airlines operating 14 weekly passenger and 10 weekly cargo flights scheduled between Canada and Nigeria. Currently, cargo from Nigeria could take anywhere between one to two weeks before arriving here in Canada. For passengers, total travel time flying between the two countries could take up to 48 hours, depending on connections. The expanded air travel agreement partly reflects the increasing number of Nigerians who are choosing to call Canada home, and those attending school in the country. John Gradek, an aviation lecturer at McGill University, calls it a welcome development, and one that’s overdue. “There’s a strong demand from the diaspora context in Canada, and the Nigerian community in both Toronto and Vancouver are pretty strong,” Gradek said. “The Nigerian population base of about 243 million is pretty significant.” According to Statistics Canada, Nigeria was the fifth-leading source country for immigrants who arrived between 2016 and 2021, accounting for more than 40,000 newcomers. That number could now be higher. Christianah Oyewale is a second-year PhD student at Simon Fraser University, and said a direct flight would help support her research. “I have European visa; I have Moroccan visa. I find myself having to stay like 12 hours in Paris when travelling to Nigeria.” Oyewale travels quite a bit during the year to Nigeria, to visit her two young kids who are staying back while she completes her studies. She also goes there to attend conferences and seminars relating to her degree. While details are not yet available on flight frequencies, schedules and assigned aircraft types, Gradek believes, “there’s a strong affinity in terms of the oil and gas market in Nigerian and the oil and gas market in Canada,” and that puts Calgary on the map as a strong contender, along with Toronto and Vancouver, for where direct flights could take off. While the new flight options will be more convenient, Gradek warned travellers hoping for cheaper airfare not to hold their breath. “Passengers should expect to pay big bucks,” he said. “Air Canada service will command a premium in the marketplace. Economy anywhere around $1,100 or $1,200, business class somewhere around $3,000-$4,000.” That would be similar to what it costs to fly to Switzerland and Germany. Atoyebi says the direct flights will prevent food waste and “ease burden on small businesses in the Lower Mainland that import culturally appropriate food for the Black community.” Air Transat had planned to launch a non-stop flight from Toronto to Accra, Ghana, earlier this year but the route was cancelled before the first flight took off. Gradek anticipates services will begin sometime between spring and summer of 2027, and estimates there will be about three weekly flights from Canada to start. Not much is known about how long a direct flight from Canada to Lagos will be but Gradek estimates somewhere between 11 and 12 hours.
