A charter flight carrying 41 deportees from four European countries arrived in Lagos, Nigeria, and Accra, Ghana, between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, August 27, according to Austrian news outlet Heute.at. The operation, led by Germany and supported by Austria, Luxembourg, and Hungary, resulted in the removal of 36 Nigerians, five Ghanaians, and one Gambian.
Breakdown of Deportees by Country
Of the 36 Nigerians removed, 29 were deported from Germany, three from Austria, two from Luxembourg, and one from Hungary, as reported by Leadership. The 35 individuals who boarded the flight from Germany included 29 Nigerians, five Ghanaians, and one Gambian.
Austria contributed three Nigerians to the operation. One of the three had previously been convicted of drug-related offences before being removed from the country.
Austria's Interior Minister Reaffirms Deportation Policy
Austria's Interior Minister, Gerhard Karner, used the operation to reaffirm the government's commitment to removing both illegal residents and criminal offenders. "The negative net migration is being continued through a consistent deportation policy. Never before have so many illegal residents and criminal offenders been removed from the country by Austrian authorities as in the first half of this year. We will continue on this necessary path undeterred," Karner said.
Germany Coordinates Joint Removal
According to Diaspora Tales, Germany took the lead in organising the joint removal, with Austria, Luxembourg, and Hungary supporting the effort. Joint deportation flights of this kind allow multiple European Union member states to share the cost and logistics of large-scale removals, Punch reported. The operation is part of a broader pattern of coordinated expulsions across Europe targeting migrants without legal residency status or those with criminal records.
Previous Deportations from Germany
Previously, Legit.ng reported that Germany deported at least 137 Nigerian citizens across five chartered flight operations between February and June 2026, according to figures monitored by the DERS Team and Refugees4refugees.org. The five operations returned Nigerians in separate batches: 27 in February, 37 as part of a 50-person joint EU operation in March, 24 in April, 23 in May, and 26 in June 2026.
