On Saturday, March 31st, a Boeing 777 plane branded Air Peace touched down at Gatwick Airport in London, United Kingdom, after taking off from Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, Nigeria. It was the first time in seven years that a Nigerian airline made the trip from Lagos to London, marking the beginning of a fresh chapter in Nigeria’s aviation industry.
Medview Airline was the last to operate this lucrative route seven years ago. Before that, there were Virgin Nigeria and Arik Air, two airlines that held much promise but imploded due to familiar issues around management and profitability. Their absence meant that the route was dominated by foreign airlines charging premium fares to Nigerians travelling to the United Kingdom, a significant trade partner and foreign ally, for reasons ranging from business to education.
Air Peace has emerged to plug that gap, with significant implications for the Nigerian economy, notably efforts led by the CBN to strengthen the nation’s currency and provide a stable environment for trade and investments. Already, the airline has forced its foreign competitors to drive down their pricing for the route, given its more competitive fares which immediately attracted a lot of travellers.
“Beyond passengers’ comfort, we are going to have competitive prices on international routes. We are seeing that already. Other airlines have opened up their lower fare tickets to Nigerians now because Allen (the CEO and Chairman of Air Peace) has come in,” Nigeria’s Aviation and Aerodevelopment Minister, Festus Keyamo SAN, said at the brief ceremony held to commemorate the event.
“The most important one is that there would be no problem of trapped funds because it is a local company; so, it won’t need to repatriate money through the CBN. The airlines that come to Nigeria – what we experience is massive repatriation of funds that puts pressure on the naira because they have to seek dollars to repatriate revenues earned from the sale of tickets. So, it eases the pressure on the naira because this is a Nigerian company that deals in naira,” he added.
The issue of profit repatriation was a low point for the Buhari administration as the CBN, led by the disgraced Godwin Emefiele, struggled to meet the demands of foreign airlines who sought their earnings in dollars, prompting a series of embarrassing headlines in the international press.
Emefiele’s successor, Yemi Cardozo, prioritized clearing the backlog and was instrumental, together with other members of the administration, in settling the dispute that paved the way for Air Peace to operate on the route.
Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, emphasized the point, noting that “Air Peace’s presence in London is not merely about arrivals and departures; it is about trade, investment, and collaboration. By choosing Air Peace, you choose to invest in Nigeria. You choose to empower local businesses, create jobs, and strengthen our economy.”
She stated further: “In December 2023, the UK exported £185 million in goods to Nigeria and imported £154 million in goods, resulting in a negative trade balance of £30.8 million. This is a trend we wish to change in Nigeria’s favor, and an additional trade route is a major step in the right direction.”
Air Peace has priced its economy class ticket at N1.2 million, slashing fares by 66 percent on the route, according to findings. Allen Onyema, CEO of Air Peace, has also announced potential rebates for Nigerians studying in the UK, some of whom have been unable to visit their parents for years, owing to prohibitive airfare.
