The row over Air Peace’s flight operations from the United Kingdom has taken another turn with Festus Keyamo, the Nigerian minister of aviation and aerospace development, writing to his British counterpart to lodge a formal complaint.
In a letter dated August 1, 2024 and addressed to Louise
Haigh, the UK secretary of state for transport, Keyamo warned that if Air Peace
is not allocated a space at the London Heathrow, Nigeria will be forced to
“reciprocate” by denying British Airways and Virgin Atlantic slots at the Lagos
and Abuja airports.
Although Heathrow is the UK’s primary airport, Air Peace,
the Nigerian carrier, currently operates from the Gatwick Airport, the
secondary airport.
All efforts by Air Peace to get a slot at Heathrow, which is
closer to the heart of London, have been unsuccessful.
TheCable reports that, Keyamo in a letter, expressed “the
displeasure” of the Nigerian government over the “consistent denial of slot” by
the UK slot office to Air Peace on the Nigeria-London route to fly into
Heathrow, its first choice, since it began operations in the UK in March 2024.
“The Airline had made consistent efforts in the past to fly
into Heathrow Airport from Lagos, but was denied, and only granted approval to
fly into Gatwick Airport from Lagos,” he wrote.
“Following the approval granted the Airline by the Nigerian
Government to fly the Abuja-London route, the Airline approached the Slot
Office for slot allocation at the London Heathrow Airport, for flight
operations planned to commence in November 2024, during the IATA Winter Season.
It is highly disheartening that up till this moment, the Airline has not
received any favourable response from the Slot Office.”
He reminded the UK that both British Airways and Virgin
Atlantic are operating into Nigeria’s primary airports in Lagos and Abuja
“without encumbrances placed in their ways”.
British Airways, in particular, has been flying into Lagos
since 1936.
“Therefore, it is necessary for Nigerian designated carriers
to enjoy similar reciprocity that British carriers are enjoying. It is highly
unfair on the side of the British authorities and a discredit to the Nigerian
authorities and the Nigerian nation as a whole, for slot allocation to Nigerian
carriers to be an issue at all times. We feel totally betrayed by the British
authorities for not reciprocating the good gesture of the Nigerian State and
its people,” Keyamo wrote.
“The slot allocation issue should not be used as an alibi to
deny the existence of a Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) between Nigeria
and the United Kingdom, which hallmark is based on the principle of reciprocity.
Whatever concessionary arrangements you have with your airports with third
parties, the concessionaire(s) should legally inherit your existing obligations
(especially those under Bi-Lateral Services Agreements) in respect of the use
of those airports.
“Arising from the
foregoing, I wish to emphatically state that if Air Peace is not allocated a
slot at the London Heathrow Airport, it might be difficult for British flag
carriers to access Nigeria’s tier one airports from the next Winter Season,
unless when a frank discussion is opened with us to break the debacle
associated with the slot allocation at Heathrow to the Airline and other
Nigerian designated airlines.
“While expecting your timely intervention over this pressing
issue dear to the hearts of Nigerians, please, accept the consideration of my
warm regards.”
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