The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has announced that the federal government has approved the commencement of the Abuja-London route for Nigeria’s Air Peace airline.
This was disclosed in a statement during a live appearance programme on Channels Television.
In the statement, Keyamo said he had approved the commencement of the Abuja to London a day earlier.
He said, “Just yesterday (Wednesday), I approved Air Peace for the Abuja-London route, not only the Lagos-London route. British Airways also comes to Abuja. So, let Air Peace block that path and start a war. It’s all for the good of Nigerians.”
Furthermore, he said Air Peace should be operating the Heathrow Airport and not Gatwick Airport stating Gatwick is just the starting point.
The Minister said that he was reviewing BASA between the United Kingdom and Nigeria, with some decisions to be taken at the end of this review.
Recall March 30, 2024, Air Peace began its direct flight operations from Lagos to Gatwick Airport in London.
This was applauded by many industry experts stating that more local airlines should be encouraged to follow suit.
The price of an international flight ticket on the Lagos-London route was as high as N3.5 million before the entry of Air Peace.
However, with Air Peace pegging a return economy class ticket for N1.2 million, foreign airlines were forced to cut down on their fares to remain competitive.
The entrance of Air Peace on the London route has sparked a price war, with foreign carriers reported to have underpriced to stay competitive.
