Air Peace will soon unveils its Abuja-London flights — Festus Keyamo

Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, has disclosed that Air Peace, a Nigerian airline, will shortly start operating flights between London and Abuja.

Keyamo said he had also given the go-ahead for Air Peace to add Abuja to its London route when he made this revelation on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Thursday.

He claims that I only approved Air Peace for the Abuja-London route yesterday (Wednesday), not just the Lagos-London route. British Airways visits Abuja as well. So let’s launch a war and block that path with Air Peace. Everything is done to benefit Nigerians.

Although Keyamo acknowledged that Gatwick Airport is only a low-hanging fruit, he added that Air Peace or any other interested local airline should be operating to Heathrow Airport instead.

Following his examination of the BASA between the UK and Nigeria, the minister announced that decisions would be taken.

The unfair Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) between Nigeria and the United Kingdom was reciprocated on March 30, 2024, when Air Peace launched direct flights from Lagos to London’s Gatwick Airport.

However, a number of industry watchers have praised the decision, noting that more local airlines are being pushed to start international flights to lucrative routes.

According to Opinion Nigeria report, foreign carriers are currently underpricing to remain in business as a result of Air Peace’s entry into the London market, which has caused a price war.

On this, Keyamo said the government has been observing the unfolding events and would support Air Peace with all federal might.