Antigua Airways (Antigua) has made its inaugural flight between Lagos, Nigeria and Antigua and Barbuda with a B767-300ER chartered from Portugal's euroAtlantic Airways (YU, Lisbon), Flightradar24 ADS-B data confirms.

CS-TSU (msn 33048) flew to Antigua on November 1, then returned to Lisbon, before returning to Antigua on November 6 for the flight to Lagos. The chartered aircraft flew under "Antigua Airways operated by euroAtlantic Airways" colours.

According to euroAtlantic Airways, its B767-300ER was chartered for the specific flight only to mark Independence Day in Antigua, but discussions were ongoing between the parties for future cooperation.

Chief Executive Officer Eugenio Fernandes and Emmanuel Samson, founding President of the Nigeria Antigua and Barbuda Chamber of Commerce, were amongst the 100 passengers onboard the inaugural flight. Akinola Michael Bayo, the owner of Marvelous Mike Press Limited and the main Nigerian investor in Antigua Airways, was not onboard, but The Cayman Times newspaper reported some of his family members were represented.

No official timeline was given for the start of scheduled flights. Still, Fernandes told the paper he was confident that all parties involved would cooperate and they would begin soon. Long-term plans are for add-on flights from Antigua to Canada, but, according to Fernandes, "there is still a lot of work left to be done".

As reported, Antigua Airways is a private-public partnership between Nigerian online travel agency Wakanow, African aviation services provider Aerostatus, and Nigerian printing and publishing firm Marvelous Mike Press Limited. The Antigua and Barbuda government owns 20% by supporting the airline through the Eastern Caribbean Commonwealth state's Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP) which provides citizenship to foreign investors who significantly contribute to the island's socio-economic development.