By Sade Williams/Business a.m.

 

Air Peace management has debunked claims by Hadi Sirika, immediate past aviation minister, about its B777 aircraft and Dubai operations in an interview on Arise TV, saying the claims were all lies.

A statement signed by Toyin Olajide, chief operating officer of the airline, described the claims as absolute false assertions.

“Firstly, Sirika, in his bid to denigrate Air Peace while praising Ethiopian Airline, stated that we leased ‘two’ Boeing 777 aircraft on a monthly lease fee of $250,000, parked the aircraft for several months and incurred losses of $19 million while all the aircraft engines and landing gears became due for replacement when we were ready to fly. He went on to ask, ‘who does that?’ He stated that Ethiopian Airlines would never do that.

“This is a blatant lie as we have three and not two Boeing 777 aircraft which were never leased or rented, but were purchased outrightly by the airline.

“Air peace never incurred such a loss, we never paid rentals contrary to his lies. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) can attest to the purchase and ownership of the aircraft by Air Peace.

“Secondly, Sirika said the airline stopped flying to Dubai because ‘we lack capacity’. This is another stark lie,” she said.

Olajide said Air Peace never stopped the Dubai operations because of lack of capacity, adding that Air Peace commenced operations into the UAE in July, 2019, but in October 2022, the UAE Government announced a total visa ban on Nigerians.

“Neither Emirates nor Air Peace has operated the Nigerian/UAE route since the ban. The persisting non-issuance of visas and the accompanying inconveniences necessitated the suspension of our Dubai operations from November 22, 2022 till date.

“For the former minister to ascribe the suspension to ‘lack of capacity’ is not only shocking but also shows how keen he is to disparage an airline whose ascendancy has defied all the commercial odds and hostile environment placed on its path to continue to serve our nation proudly.

“How could an airline that placed a firm order for 13 brand new E2-195 aircraft, a firm order of 15 Boeing 737 Max 8 & Max 10, with over 30 aircraft already in its existing fleet be accused of lacking in capacity?

“How can an airline that stood up for the entire nation during the Covid-19 outbreak, and embarked on rescue operations worldwide, evacuating Nigerians from far away China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, India, UK and South Africa during the Covid-19 lockdowns be accused of lacking capacity?” The airline asked.

Air Peace, however, implored the general public to disregard ‘these lies told by the former minister of aviation against Air Peace during the Arise TV Interview.’

“We take serious exception to a situation where Air Peace is being misrepresented in the public sphere, causing wrong perceptions about our brand,” it added.