The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has said that the Federal Government will handle the matter internally, in response to calls for a landing slot for Nigeria’s flag carrier, Air Peace, at Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom.
Keyamo made this disclosure on Tuesday in response to a recent letter from the UK regarding the issue, according to The Punch.
Recall that Air Peace has been assigned to Gatwick Airport, which experts have compared to Nigeria’s Enugu airport, while UK airlines continue to operate at Nigeria’s primary airports, Lagos and Abuja.
To address this concern, the aviation minister has written to the UK government to express dissatisfaction with the situation, warning that if Air Peace is not granted a landing slot at Heathrow, flights from the UK may be banned from landing at Nigeria’s major airports.
In response, the UK Secretary of State for Transport, Louise Haigh, clarified that the UK government is not responsible for Air Peace’s inability to secure a landing slot at Heathrow Airport.
She stated that the allocation of landing slots is beyond the government’s authority and is solely the prerogative of Airports Coordination Limited, an independent company tasked with this responsibility.
“All foreign and domestic airlines seeking slots at coordinated airports in the UK are required to apply to the independent slot coordinator, Airports Coordination Limited, which allocates slots independently of the UK Government, using globally recognised guidelines and processes including the Worldwide Airport Slot Guidelines.
“ACL is legally required to act in a neutral, transparent, and non-discriminatory way that supports a competitive, independent market. The UK Government does not have any power to intervene in the slot allocation process of this body or to direct the coordinator on the allocation of specific slots.
“We will continue to welcome all carriers to the UK and support a competitive independent market – the allocation of slots, however, remains a matter for airlines to discuss with ACL,” the official stated.
When asked for comment, the aviation minister stated that, as it is a diplomatic matter, the governments will address the issue internally.
“We prefer dealing with the issues internally for now since it involves our diplomatic relations. Even the letter itself got out there without our permission. You can see that the date is last month. So, at a convenient point, we will let you all know the progress on the issue,” Keyamo stated.
When contacted, a senior official of Air Peace, who requested to remain anonymous due to lack of authorization to comment, stated that the airline’s management would provide a response at the appropriate time.
“We are not joining issues with anyone. When appropriate, our COO will respond accordingly. We will send a statement regarding it definitely when the time is ripe,” the official stated.
