Fakoyejo Olalekan
Head of the Legal Department at Air Peace, Ikechukwu Ugorji, has stated that an aircraft Allen Onyema, the founder of the airline, cannot travel in will not be made available to passengers.
Ugorji made this known while speaking exclusively to Prime Business Africa about passenger safety and other measures being taken by Air Peace in its operations.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe lawyer stated that Air Peace does not compromise the standards and safety of its passengers, the reason the company will rather ground an aircraft than doubtfully fly it for profit.
Air Peace presently has 38 aircraft, the highest by any Nigerian domestic airline. Ugorji says the airline is bent on being available for passengers who choose its affordable but safe flights.
Its CEO, Onyema, has doubled down on the acquisition of new aircraft to improve passenger safety, rather than depend on fairly used aircraft.
“We’re the only private indigenous airline that has made purchases of, brand new aircraft. I know it means a lot, as against deploying fairly used aircraft and all that. So, it brings something to the table, and we also recognize the need to provide value to customers,” Ugorji told Prime Business Africa.
The legal counsel stated further: “When it comes to the safety of our passengers, we do not compromise that; This is the reason, once some disruptions happen, “that aircraft is temporarily grounded until that is fixed.
“Instead of putting lives at risk, we need to comply with strict safety requirements. So, here at Air Peace, we take safety very seriously.”
He revealed that Onyema often says, “any aircraft that I cannot personally travel in, no, Nigerian should travel in it. So, that’s the height of safety culture we have in Air Peace.”
Meanwhile, Air Peace is opening more routes to create more flight options for Nigerians. Ugorji told Prime Business Africa that Onyema plans to “link every state of the federation.”
The company operates 30 routes, both locally and internationally; 20 domestic routes, 7 regional routes and 3 international destinations.
Air Peace has also made it easy for Christians and Muslims in Nigeria who often want to visit their holy prayer grounds in Isreal and Saudi Arabia by connecting Nigeria’s airspace to that of Tel Aviv and Dubai – although the Dubai route is currently closed due to visa issues affecting Nigerians.
“We are also meeting the needs of businesses, boosting trade ties between Nigeria and China by offering an affordable route to the Asian country,” Ugorji said.
