Air Peace Airlines Chief Executive Officer, Chief Allen Onyema, says all he wants is for government to support and facilitate business operations for indigenous airlines, and not for Air Peace to become Nigeria’s national carrier.
In an interview on Arise TV, on Sunday morning, Onyema gave sweeping examples with such carriers as Delta Airline in the United States or Virgin Atlantic and British Airways in the UK, where despite not being national carriers, significant governmental support ensures their global competitiveness.
“The truth is that we need government support. All the Nigerian airlines need government support. However, on the issue of singling out Air Peace to become the National carrier, we are not interested. Let Nigerians support the indigenous airlines. We are all flag carriers.
“When you fly out of your country, you become flag carriers. Why I said so is that, in America, they have Delta and others, support them, even British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, they are not national carriers but the British government supports them. If you touch Delta, America will release mayhem on you, if you touch Virgin Atlantic, Britain will do the same thing to you.
“In our own country, what we are pleading is for the ease of doing business. Let them do that for the indigenous airlines and see us blossom, instead of bad-mouthing us because these airlines pass through all manners of problems.”
Why We Choose Gatwick Instead of Heathrow Airport
Air Peace launched its maiden flight to London on Saturday 30 March – one of Nigeria’s most lucrative air routes. The airline waited 10 years to commence flights into the U.K. after securing approvals but it was offered to fly to other secondary airports while it preferred the U.K. primary airport which Is Heathrow.
Eventually, Air Peace took up the option of Gatwick International Airport after recognizing the benefits such as easier access for Nigerian passengers and smoother connectivity to various parts of the UK, despite initial reservations.
“The BASA (Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement) we signed with the UK is this: you give me your primary airport; we give you our primary airport. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways come to our country using our primary airports, Lagos and Abuja. When we applied, they told us Heathrow was not available to us and they were even suggesting London Stansted Airport or Luton. They also suggested Gatwick, but I refused. I wanted to go to Heathrow, which is their primary airport
“But after some time we said okay, as Nigerians are groaning under the weight of high fares; we decided even if it is Scotland; we would go. So, we decided to take Gatwick. Gatwick was not our choice but in the long run, we decided to see some good in choosing Gatwick.
“Many of our people live down the South-East part of London and there is heavy traffic into Central London from Heathrow, but at Gatwick, they allotted Southern terminal to Air Peace and when you get to the south terminal, you get out of immigration, take your luggage, you walk into the Gatwick express train within three minutes and that will take you to Victoria, right into Central London.
“From the south terminal, you have access to tube, you have access to national rail and you have access to road transport to other parts of U.K. So, Gatwick has turned out to even be better for us. That’s why we took Gatwick,” Dr Onyema said.
How We Fought Restriction Of Air Peace Return Flight To Rejected Part Of Lagos Airport
On the return of the maiden flight back from London to Lagos on Saturday evening, Onyema gave an uncomplimentary account of how Nigerian government officials sabotage indigenous airlines in preference for foreign ones.
“Let me tell you what happened yesterday at the international airport. When our own aircraft landed, thank God I was there. It had happened before. The wickedness in the system is stinking. Your only carrier doing international operations in Nigeria will land and you will keep us somewhere in the bush, the disused side of the airport and you expect us to be using rickety buses to take international passengers to the new terminals these international airlines rejected when it opened.
“When they did the runway, they wanted to do runway analysis after they fixed the light, it was Air Peace Nigeria begged. They didn’t have money to fuel a triple seven. A triple seven consumes about 8,800 litres of fuel per hour. So, it was Air Peace they brought to come and test it. We did it free of charge.
“That plane that landed yesterday would have taken about 6 hours for people to exit that airport because first of all, they put us near NAHCO shed, very far. No aircraft, foreign or local; that was where they told my pilot to park, meanwhile C-23 at the new terminal was opened, where you can just park the aircraft and the bridge will key in. When my captain called, they said they reserved It for a foreign airline, at the expense of a Nigerian airline. Imagine the time it would take to take people from that place to the terminal building and the time it would take to offload and it would have taken about 9 hours.
“Nigerians would have hated Air Peace because they wouldn’t know… So, you’re contending, not with external conspiracies but with internal conspiracies within Nigeria.
“So, what I did was to call my operation control center who called the pilot because I couldn’t reach the pilot and told them to inform the pilot not to move that aircraft. I told him to block the taxiway so no airline in the world would have to land and that was when they started making moves to take us to where we rightly belonged.
“The DG of the Nigerian Civil Authorities was on board in the aircraft. About four senior staff of the NCAA were on board. They delayed this flight for about 30 minutes.”
Responding to proposals like the Fly Nigeria Act, which aims to boost domestic air travel by prioritizing Nigerian airlines for official trips, Onyema lauded it as a positive step toward conserving the country’s foreign exchange.
Please Like 👍, Comment, Share & Follow us on our social media handles.
WhatsApp Channel
Telegram Channel
