Our 7:30 departure to Lekki is the busiest flight of the week. Here is what you see from the window, minute by minute, on a clear morning.
Minutes 0 to 5: Ring Road and the hills
We lift straight up, turn south over Ring Road and climb past the Challenge roundabout. Sit on the left and you will see the old city's brown roofs stretching to the hills, still pink in the early light.
Minutes 5 to 15: farmland and forest
Within five minutes the city gives way to farms, palm plantations and the line of the expressway. On a Monday the traffic below is already building; most passengers stop looking down at this point.
The expressway is a slow ribbon of light from up here. You feel the time come back to you.
Minutes 15 to 28: towards the coast
The land flattens and the rivers widen as we cruise at about 1,500 feet. The pilots point out the lagoon when it first appears as a silver line on the horizon.
Minutes 28 to 35: the lagoon and Lekki
We follow the coastal corridor along the water, descend over the lagoon and land on the Lekki pad. Your car is waiting, and most passengers are at their desks before nine.
