The Minister Of Aviation Is Urged To Declare Air Peace A National Carrier

The minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, has been urged to designate Air Peace as a National Flag Carrier by Group Captain John Ojikutu, a former commandant of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos.

Ojikutu, who called for the airline to be given permission to fly to Heathrow not Gatwick, noted that it would bring Nigeria into competition with the British Airways on the BASA Routes.

The Group Captain, in a reaction to Keyamo’s recent visit to the UK Department for Transport to obtain a slot for Air Peace at Gatwick Airport, said British Airways should be limited to Lagos or Abuja.

According to him, such a move would enable Nigeria to partake in the forex earnings from the commercial aviation services, thereby causing a reduction in the quantity of forex repatriation from Nigeria to the UK.

He said: “Designate Air Peace as a National Flag Carrier first with the right to fly to Heathrow and not to Gatwick. That brings us in competition with the BA on the BASA Routes. Limit BA to Lagos or Abuja and not again to Lagos and Abuja.

“That makes it possible for us to partake in the forex earnings from the commercial aviation services and reduces the quantity of forex repatriation from Nigeria to the UK at least. Begin the solution of repatriation from the UK and UEA where we have more than one airline operating from those routes.”

Credit: Vangaurd