New Route of the Day – Americas (29 November 2021): United between Washington IAD and Lagos

United Airlines on 29 November began service on the 8,760-kilometre route between Washington IAD and Lagos in Nigeria. Flights will depart the US capital on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays using the airline’s 787-8s. Return flights depart the Nigerian capital on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The inaugural flight to Lagos took 10 hours and 10 minutes. United now operates four non-stop services between the US and Africa, the others being Washington IAD to Accra in Ghana (daily), New York EWR to Cape Town (3-weekly) and New York EWR to Johannesburg (daily). United has previously served Lagos non-stop from Houston IAH between March 2012 and June 2016, also using 787-8s.

The only other non-stop services this winter between the US and Nigeria are provided by Delta. The SkyTeam carrier is serving Lagos daily from Atlanta and 3-weekly from New York JFK, with both routes being flown using the airline’s A330-200s.

What they said

Patrick Quayle, United’s VP of International Network and Alliances, said: “This new flight to Lagos has been highly anticipated by our customers and offers the first ever nonstop service between Washington, D.C. and Nigeria, as well as convenient, one-stop connections to over 80 destinations throughout the Americas including Houston and Chicago. On behalf of all of United we’d like to offer our sincere thanks to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and US Department of Transportation for supporting our plans to provide this service.”

Carl Schultz, acting VP of Airline Business Development at the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, added: “We are honoured to work with our partners at United Airlines to welcome their second nonstop connection from Dulles International to the African continent. Lagos joins nearly 50 other nonstop international destinations currently served by the National Capital Region’s gateway to the world.”