BY GODWIN OBI
Vice President Kashim Shettima has promised to meet with key stakeholders to resolve the bureaucratic challenges denying Nigerian airline, Air Peace, landing rights at Heathrow Airport, one of the world’s busiest airports by passenger traffic.
“It is diplomacy. There is no quarrel, and the Vice President has vowed to meet with his colleagues (on the matter),” founder and Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace Limited, Allen Onyema, told State House Correspondents after a meeting between Shettima and Airline Operators of Nigeria at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Tuesday.
Frontline earlier reported that Air Peace’s efforts to get a slot at Heathrow, which is about 45 minutes from the heart of London, have been futile.
Although Heathrow is the UK’s primary airport, Air Peace operates from Gatwick Airport, a secondary airport.
In a letter dated August 1, 2024, and addressed to Louise Haigh, the UK Secretary of State for Transport, Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, warned that if Air Peace is not allocated a space at London Heathrow, Nigeria will be forced to “reciprocate” by denying British Airways and Virgin Atlantic slots at its Lagos and Abuja airports.
Nigeria and the UK are parties to a Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement, a treaty that provides for Civil Aviation Certifications to be shared between both countries.
The BASA sets out obligations and methods for cooperation between the authorities to avoid unnecessary duplication of evaluation and to facilitate the certification of aeronautical products by the civil aviation authorities.
This bilateral instrument also allows airport managers to provide equal landing privileges to aircraft from member countries in their domain.
However, the independent authority responsible for slot allocation in the UK, Airport Coordination Limited, revealed that Air Peace Limited missed two critical deadlines while requesting landing slots.
ACL stated that the airline failed to submit its slot requests on time for the Northern Summer 2024 and Northern Winter 2024 scheduling seasons.
But responding to a question on the matter, Onyema said, “The Vice President is worried that Nigerian airlines are not being given easy access into some choice airports. And the Vice President has also vowed to meet with his colleagues out there.
“It is diplomacy. There is no quarrel. Yes, we are not going to fight. The Vice President has taken it upon himself to make sure that Nigerian airlines are given their dues abroad.”
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