According to an official of the Embassy of Nigeria in Washington, DC, Nigerian Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Luftansa German Airlines were the only airlines that flew the Lagos-New York route in 1992 (17 Sept. 1993). The source stated that Nigerian Airways flew the Lagos-New York route direct in 1992 but that the airline currently does not fly to New York (Ibid.).

A representative of the Nigerian Airways office in New York City corroborated the above information (17 Sept. 1993). According to the representative, as of one month ago the US government cancelled all security clearance for the airline at US airports, therefore Nigerian Airways is not operating the route until further notice (Ibid.). The source also stated that before the flights were suspended, the airline had two direct flights (Wednesdays and Saturdays) to New York each week (Ibid.). November 10, 1992, was a Thursday. The airline charged US$832.00 for a one-way flight and US$1,668.00 for round trip (Ibid.). The source also stated that the airline operates on the same schedule as last year and stated that fares have not changed much since 1992 (Ibid.).

The following information obtained from the other two airlines may be useful. A representative of KLM at Kennedy Airport in New York City stated that the airline flies the Lagos-New York route via Amsterdam (17 Sept. 1993a). The Lagos-Amsterdam-New York one-way air fare is currently US$800.00 and the round trip is US$1,345.00 (Ibid.). The source could not recall the price for November 1992 but stated that the current rate is higher than last year's rate (Ibid.). The KLM representative in Ottawa added that the airline flies the Lagos-Amsterdam route three times a week (Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays) and the Amsterdam-New York route twice a day (17 Sept. 1993b). The assistant also indicated that the current Lagos-Amsterdam-New York schedule is the same as last year's (Ibid.).

According to a representative of Luftansa German Airlines, Luftansa flies the Lagos-New York route via Frankfurt (17 Sept. 1993). The Lagos-Frankfurt flights are on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays but there are two daily flights on the Frankfurt-New York route (Ibid.). The current one-way rate for the Lagos-Frankfurt-New York flight is US$1,536.00 and US$2,363.00 for the round trip (Ibid.). The same source also stated that the current rates have changed slightly from last year's rates (Ibid.). According to the source, this year's Lagos-Frankfurt-New York schedule is the same as last year's (Ibid.).

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Embassy of Nigeria, Washington, D.C. 17 September 1993. Telephone interview with official.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Kennedy Airport, New York City. 17 September 1993a. Telephone interview with representative.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Ottawa 17 September 1993b. Telephone interview with representative.

Luftansa German Airlines, Ottawa. 17 September 1993. Telephone interview with representative.

Nigerian Airways, New York City. 17 September 1993. Telephone interview with assistant.