Air Peace has explained that its repeated flight delays and cancellations are dictated by safety considerations.

The airline said it does not regret taking operational decisions rooted in the protection of human lives and strict adherence to safety standards, stating that if weather conditions, technical parameters, or operational standards fall short of what is safe, it will not operate the flight.

The airline’s statement is coming following a statement released by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), calling on the airline to “improve its domestic operations” due to alleged chronic delays and cancellations.

The airline stated that while it holds the NCAA in the highest regard as the regulatory authority overseeing aviation in Nigeria, it believes it is essential to set the record straight.

“We fully empathise with our esteemed passengers who experience discomfort, inconvenience, or disrupted plans due to flight delays or cancellations.

“It is also important to clarify a key statement allegedly credited to the NCAA, that Air Peace should reduce the size of its operations to align with available aircraft. While we understand the spirit of that recommendation, we must clearly state that Air Peace has more aircraft available than are currently rostered for daily operations. Therefore, any delays or cancellations we’ve experienced have absolutely nothing to do with fleet shortage,” the airline stated.

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The airline disclosed that on Friday, one of its aircraft experienced a bird strike, which damaged the engine while landing in Enugu.

It disclosed that the aircraft was immediately grounded and withdrawn from operation by safety protocol.

“This aircraft had been scheduled to service multiple routes today, and its unavailability has had a direct ripple effect on operations for those routes. This kind of situation is completely beyond the control of any airline, but again, our priority is the safety of our passengers.

“It is to be stated that every decision Air Peace has taken since the inception of this airline, whether resulting in a delay, cancellation, or suspension of flight, has been taken in the best interest of safety. And if such situations occur again, we will do the same because we are not ready to compromise safety.

“We do not cancel any flight for the fun of it. It is not our policy to delay or cancel flights without due cause, and when we do, we are often the greater loser financially. We will never sacrifice safety for convenience, comfort, speed, or profit,” the airline added.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.

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