The former Virgin Nigeria, now branded as Air Nigeria, looks set to relaunch flights between Lagos and Gatwick, according to local media reports.
The carrier previously operated the route as Virgin Nigeria up until 2009 when flights were suspended, with the airline stating its intention to “focus is on consolidating and continuing to expand our profitable domestic and regional flight operations.
Virgin has since sold its stake in the carrier, which is now branded as Air Nigeria, and several local media outlets in Nigeria are reporting that the carrier plans to restart international routes to Gatwick on May 16 and Johannesburg on May 17, with Paris set to be added in June.
The reports state Air Nigeria has acquired two A330-200 aircraft for the new routes, with plans to offer a daily service to Gatwick.
Rival Nigerian carrier Arik Air offers daily flights between Heathrow Terminal 4 and Lagos, although the carrier was recently forced to suspend its Heathrow-Abuja route following the breakdown in discussions between the UK and Nigeria governments over bilateral air service agreements between the two countries.
British Airways also flies daily to Lagos from Heathrow Terminal 5, as does Virgin Atlantic from Terminal 3.