PRIVATE Nigerian airline, Air
Peace, will start flights to
Johannesburg in the next
few months.
Communications manager
of Air Peace, Chris Iwarah,
says the airline has been
preparing to launch longhaul
flights since last year
when it was designated by
the Federal Government
to operate flights to
Johannesburg London,
Atlanta, Dubai, Mumbai and
Guangzhou.
Since then, Air Peace
has sent pilots to the
Boeing Training Centre in
the UK for Boeing 777
training, which was a first
for any Nigerian airline. Air
Peace will also be the first
Nigerian airline to operate
a B777.
According to Allen
Onyema, ceo of Air Peace,
the airline is ready to
begin operations on the
Johannesburg route as
soon as it gets relevant
approvals. “As soon as we
get their co-operation, we
will make it happen,” he
says.
In February last year, Arik
Air suspended its
flights to Johannesburg
following massive debt to
creditors. In May last year,
SAA suspended flights to
Abuja due to ‘unspecified
operational reasons’. Since
then travel to Nigeria has
become a challenge with a
reduced number of flights
into the country and no
more direct flights to Abuja.
Rachael Penaluna,
business manager of Sure
Maritime Travel, says she
would book Air Peace on
the basis that Iata audited
the airline last year and
declared that it met the full
requirements of the Iata
Operational Safety Audit,
which means that its safety
standards are closely
aligned with those of the
EU. “This is the ultimate
benchmark. Passenger
safety and duty of care
are our main priorities
when booking air travel to
Nigeria,” she says.
