A leading Nigerian private airline Arik Air said Tuesday it would begin daily flights from the commercial hub Lagos to Johannesburg next month.

Arik said the flights to and from South Africa's largest city would begin June 1 on newly acquired Airbus 340-500 aircraft.

A Lagos-Johannesburg return ticket costs 120,000 naira ($814), one of the cheapest tariffs on the lucrative route.

Founded in 2006 by a Nigerian businessman, Sir Joseph Arumemi-Johnson, Arik Air has expanded to more than 90 domestic and regional flights a day, using a fleet of 20 planes.

The airline, which last December began daily flights to London, plans to launch as from next month operations into Freetown (Sierra Leone), Bangui (Gambia) and Dakar (Senegal), an official of the airline told AFP.

Arik is also the national carrier of neighbouring west African country Niger.

AFP

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