The Nigeria Football Federation has stated that a regular flight, instead of a charter arrangement, will be used to convey the Super Eagles to Alexandria, Egypt for the return leg of the Africa Nations Cup qualifier. The NFF boss Amaju Pinnick who spoke to reporters in Abuja on Thursday said the decision to adjust the flight plan “arose out of economic of scales.”
The match will hold on March 29.
Nigeria will meet its old adversaries, Egypt, in Alexandria four days after the first Group G tie in Kaduna on March 25. Pinnick, who said that the federation could revert to the charter plan if the need arose, said the Eagles might fly to Cairo aboard a regular Egypt Air that departs from Abuja, Lagos or Kano, before connecting Alexandria via a domestic flight or by road.
The calculation is that the regular flight plan will save NFF about N35m. The quoted figure for a charter flight to Egypt submitted by a Nigerian airline in negotiation with the FA is $250,000. Though the final decision has not been taken, Pinnick reasoned that the NFF, which is groaning under the effect of scarcity of foreign currency, can use the saved money in paying the bonuses of the players.
