Some passengers on Air Peace’s second flight to its recently launched Guangzhou destination on July 20, 2022, have lauded the airline on its commencement of flight operations to the Asian country.

The passengers, in an interview shortly before their Guangzhou flight departed on Wednesday, from the new International Terminal in Lagos, expressed delight that a Nigerian airline could now operate a scheduled flight to China, a development that has taken off the connectivity burden which the flying public faced on the route.

Clark Wang, one of the Chinese nationals on the flight, stressed that the Chinese community was excited over the launch, adding that it signalled a great stride in strengthening the commercial ties between Nigeria and China.

He noted that the flight connectivity between both nations would foster development and boost both economies. Wang also applauded the Air Peace Management for the strategic decision to make a foray into the route.

Read also: We have commenced operational audit to quicken our flight return – Dana Air

Another passenger, Emmanuel Okereke, expressed happiness over the China launch and felicitated with Air Peace. He implored the airline to sustain the feat and be consistent in providing best-in-class services. He called on Allen Onyema, the Chairman of Air Peace, to ensure sustenance of this new route and extend the wings of the airline to more cities.

Similarly, Timothy Ose, another passenger on board the service, said he flies Air Peace to Dubai and when he learnt of the new China route, he was delighted. He said the expansion into Asia is a huge respite to Nigerians, especially those who frequent the China destination. While congratulating Onyema, Ose also urged Air Peace to keep raising the bar and blazing the trail.

Air Peace launched its China destination, which is its third international route, on July 13, 2022, with a record breaking high load factor of 240 passengers. The airline disclosed that it had India and Israel in the works and reiterated its commitment to continually ease the burden of air travel for Nigerians and, by extension, Africans.

According to Oluwatoyin Olajide, the chief operating officer, Air Peace ‘we will continue to grow our route network as well as modernise our fleet strategically’.

Air Peace currently boasts of a network of twenty domestic routes, seven regional routes and three international destinations, including Dubai and Johannesburg.

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.

Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date

Open In Whatsapp