Air
Peace Corporate Communications Manager, Chris Iwarah (4th left), the
Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of LAS, Aeroport International
Blaise Diagne, Xavier Mary (5th left), Minister in the Embassy of
Nigeria, Dakar, Lot Egopija (6th left), Air Peace Brand Ambassador, Kcee
(right) and others cutting cake to mark the airline’s inaugural flight
to Dakar
After weeks of delay, Air Peace has delivered on its promise to enhance air connectivity on the West Coast region, with the launch of Freetown, Banjul, and Dakar flight services.
The new service brings the number of Nigerian carriers on the route
to two (after Med-View Airlines Plc), creating additional capacity for
traffic ahead of the full implementation of the Single African Air
Transport Market (SAATM).The expanded West Coast operations, after the
Lagos-Ghana operation debut in 2017, was initially scheduled for launch
on December 15, 2017, but for industrial action at the Dakar
International Airport in Senegal, which forced it to be put on hold.
The maiden flight on Monday was, however, welcomed with accolades
from top government officials, members of the diplomatic corps, aviation
regulators, and corporate leaders in Sierra Leone, Gambia, and
Senegal.Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Allen Onyema,
reiterated that seamless air connectivity is pivotal to the
socio-economic development of countries within the West Coast of Africa
and other nations on the continent, hence, the determination of the
airline to operate in the region.
Onyema said the carrier was determined to unlock the economies of
countries on the West Coast of Africa with the launch of its Freetown,
Banjul, and Dakar services, by offering air travellers on business and
leisure trips seamless connectivity as well as creating jobs for the
people.According to him,
“The launch of our Freetown, Banjul, and Dakar
services today brings our regional network to four routes, and a total
of 16 domestic and West Coast destinations with more than 80 daily
flights.
“In the next few weeks, we hope to add five more services to expand
our regional route network to a total of nine destinations.
This broad
route network, we believe, will form a solid base to link African
nations and connect the continent to the rest of the world by
air.”Onyema, who was represented by the airline’s Corporate
Communications Manager, Chris Iwarah, added that the airline would soon
commence flight operations to many international destinations, including
Dubai, Guangzhou-China, London, Houston, Mumbai, and South Africa.It
would be recalled that Air Peace recently increased its fleet size from
12 to 24 aircraft, to build its capacity in proportion to its massive
expansion project.
The launch of Air Peace Freetown, Banjul and Dakar services closely
followed the inauguration of its Kano and Yola flight operations on
February 12 and 15 respectively.Receiving Air Peace delegation moments
after the maiden flight to Freetown touched down at the Freetown
International Airport, Lungi, Sierra Leone’s Minister of Transport,
Balogun Koroma, commended the carrier for extending its operations to
the country.
Koroma said they in Sierra Leone were looking for in-flight quality
service, on-time service and adherence to local content laws in terms of
employment of locals “and Air Peace has given us the assurance that
they would adhere to that”.Shortly after departing Freetown, the
inaugural flight landed at the Banjul International Airport, where the
Director of Operations of The Gambia Airport Authority, Abdoulie Colley,
assured Air Peace that it would be accorded the needed support to
succeed in the country.
For his part, an excited Nigeria High Commissioner to The Gambia,
Ambassador Oluwasegun Ibidapo-Obe, said the coming of Air Peace would
strengthen bilateral relations between Nigeria and The Gambia.The envoy
said The Gambia had a lot of potential that Nigerians could exploit and
improved air connectivity would boost mutual the socio-economic
relations between Nigeria and The Gambia.
Relationship Manager, Corporate Banking of FBN Gambia Limited, Mike
Junior Emeh, said Air Peace’s expansion of its route network to The
Gambia and other West Coast countries was a big relief for travellers.He
urged the airline to maintain its on-time reputation and consistency,
assuring that the carrier would succeed in its West Coast flight
operations.
In Dakar, the Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of LAS, Xavier
Mary, who spoke on behalf of the operators of Senegal’s new airport,
Aeroport International Blaise Diagne, said Air Peace’s Dakar service was
a good opportunity for improving businesses between Nigeria and
Senegal.
In his own goodwill speech, Minister in the Embassy of Nigeria,
Dakar, Lot Egopija, said he was pleased that Air Peace was fulfilling
the cardinal agenda of the Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS) to bridge the gap among its member-states.
“Air Peace coming into Dakar is to create access to the people of
both countries and also to further the ECOWAS agreement.“Nigeria has
Bi-lateral Air Service Agreements (BASAs) with many nations, and having a
population of 180 million people, it is a good way of ensuring
Nigerians have access to these people and also their businesses. “Many
people have preconceived notions about Nigeria, and I hope that Air
Peace will be able to allay their fears by connecting them to the
country to see our vast potential,” he said.
