Air Peace’s ₦32bn MRO: Can Nigeria Save $1.5bn Lost to Overseas Aircraft Maintenance?

By early 2027, Nigeria is set to host a state-of-the-art Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Terminal Two in Lagos, courtesy of Air Peace. The development has sparked excitement among aviation stakeholders, who believe it could transform the sector and significantly cut costs for local airlines.

Nigeria has around 12 scheduled domestic carriers, most of which rely on foreign countries for heavy aircraft checks, particularly C-checks and D-checks. Although maintenance firms like 7 Star Global Hangar Limited, ExecuJet Aviation Group, and Aero MRO have reported rising demand locally, operators still send aircraft abroad for major work in countries like Ethiopia, Morocco, Egypt, the UAE, and South Africa.

Industry reports reveal that Nigerian airlines spend about $1.5 billion annually on overseas aircraft maintenance. In 2021 alone, domestic carriers spent $2 billion abroad. Air Peace itself disclosed that it has spent ₦180 billion outside the country for maintenance.

To address this, the airline has begun constructing a ₦32 billion MRO hangar on 34,000 square metres of land in Lagos. At the groundbreaking on September 17, Chairman and CEO Dr. Allen Onyema explained that the project, supported by Embraer and the Bank of Industry (BOI), will be completed in about 15 months.

“This will be an MRO that can take wide-body planes like the Boeing 777. It is going to be the biggest MRO in Africa because it will be able to take one 777 and five other planes at the same time,” Onyema said.

Stakeholder Reactions

Former NSIB Public Affairs Manager, Tunji Oketunbi, highlighted the economic importance of the project on Aviation Scope, a Voice of People TV programme.
“When you look at the importance of MRO to the nation’s aviation industry, we should be talking about it because for many years and up to now, we have not had the kind of MRO that we desire,” he said.

He explained that while A-checks and B-checks are routine in Nigeria, C-checks—which overhaul avionics, engines, landing gear and other critical systems—are still done abroad.
“Anytime an aircraft is taken overseas for C-check, a lot of foreign exchange is spent. The number one economic benefit is that it stops capital flight because aircraft owners will be paying for maintenance in Naira,” Oketunbi added.

Similarly, Engineer Galadima Abednego, President of the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), noted that the hangar could help reduce unemployment in the sector.
“I heard that Embraer is coming to have an MRO facility with Air Peace in Nigeria. Once we have such a needed investment in the industry, then unemployment will also be a thing of the past for our young people,” he told Saturday Vanguard.

Retired Group Captain John Ojikutu, CEO of Centurion Security & Safety Consults, urged government to ensure local airlines use the facility once it is operational.
“How many MROs do we have in Africa besides South Africa, Ethiopia, Morocco and Egypt? Most of the airlines here spend $5 to $6 million abroad per check. When you multiply by the number of aircraft, it’s huge capital flight,” he said.
“Let me just hope they will allow Air Peace to survive with this. If government controls capital flight and mandates airlines to maintain their fleets locally, the industry will benefit.”

With Nigeria losing billions annually to overseas maintenance, the success of Air Peace’s MRO project could reshape the aviation industry, create thousands of jobs, and keep critical funds within the country.

Opinion Nigeria News