Airline operations seek FG's support in international operations -

Air Peace has explained that the Coronavirus lockdown and its other effects are the reasons why the airline experienced a reduction of its flight frequencies.

In a bid to protect domestic airlines going into international operations, the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has asked the Federal Government to get more involved in international aero-politics.

Nogie Meggison, the AON Chairman, on Friday said that without the full involvement and support of the government, indigenous Nigerian carriers would not be as competitive as their regional and international counterparts.

“The government needs to join in the politics because we need support, from our ambassadors and every relevant government agency, we need to play this politics with our whole body,” he said.

Meggison, who spoke during a ceremony to mark Air Peace’s inaugural flight to Dubai, said the Federal Government had been supportive but added that a lot more needed to be done.

He said Air Peace should be given support as Nigeria’s flag carrier.

“The government has been supportive so far; we all want a flag carrier and Air Peace has also come this far but aero-politics will come in, which is where we need the government,” he said.

Related News

Sabiu Zakari, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation, stated that the government would continue to support domestic airlines, especially with special tax windows.

“We have been supporting them but the next level is to assist them with operations into other countries,” Zakari, who was represented by an official of the ministry, Hassan Musa, said.

Allen Onyema, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, said Nigerians had been made to pay more than passengers from other African countries on international routes due to the hitherto non-existence of a formidable carrier from the country.

According to him, Nigerians pay more to the UK on a six-hour flight than passengers from Southern African countries travelling for nine hours or more to the same destination.

“This is the time to stop the short-changing of Nigerians on international routes, I don’t have doubts that Air Peace will sustain this route and more to come,” he said.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha

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.