The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has announced that a Nigerian airline, Air Peace, will soon begin flights between Abuja and London.
Keyamo disclosed this on Channels Television’s “Politics
Today” programme on Thursday, stating that he had granted an approved for Air Peace to add Abuja to its London
route.
“Just yesterday (Wednesday), I approved Air Peace for the
Abuja-London route, not only the Lagos-London route. British Airways also come
to Abuja. So, let Air Peace block that path and start a war. It’s all for the
good of Nigerians,” the minister said.
Keyamo indicated that Air Peace or any interested local
airline should aim to operate at London Heathrow Airport instead of Gatwick,
adding however that the latter serves as a low-hanging fruit and a starting
point.
According to the minister, Nigeria is currently reviewing
the Bilateral Air Services Agreement between the UK and Nigeria, with decisions
to be made once the review is complete.
Air peace recently
commenced flights between Lagos and Gatwick Airport in London.
The development has garnered praise from many industry
observers, who have also raised concerns about the logistical challenges
involved.
The Assistant General Secretary of the Aviation Round Table,
Olumide Ohunayo, expressed enthusiasm about the potential benefits of the
Abuja-London route to travelers.
“Under the bilateral
services, we have seven slots from Abuja to London. It’s good to see Air Peace
using one of these slots. If they start these flights, it throws more capacity
in that market, improves competition, and brings down fares,” Ohunayo said.
He further added that with more seats available, ticket
prices would likely decrease, making air travel more affordable. “I hope it
starts as soon as possible, and I look forward to it,” he concluded.
However, a former Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace
Management Agency, Roland Itayi, questioned the feasibility of the plan,
pointing out critical logistical issues.
“How will the flights
commence without slots?” Iyayi asked. “If you fly out of Abuja to Gatwick
airport, which slot will you use to land? Does Air Peace have any slot
arrangement within Gatwick airport that will allow them to fly? These are
issues that need to be sorted out.”
Regarding this, Keyamo stated that the government was
monitoring the developments and would support Air Peace with the full backing
of the federal authorities.
0 comments:
Post a Comment