The management of Air Peace has described as false some of the claims made about its operations by the immediate past aviation minister, Hadi Sirika, during an interview on Arise TV programme on Sunday.
During the interview, the former minister spoke about the unveiling of Nigeria’s national carrier, Nigeria Air, which he launched less than three days before exiting office. He also explained why the government settled for Ethiopian airline after it emerged as the highest bidder for the national carrier.
Speaking further, Mr Sirika claimed that Air Peace 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.
Within that period, he said all the aircraft engines and landing gears became due for replacement when the airline was ready to fly.
“Who does that? Ethiopian Airlines would never do that,” he said.
Air Peace Reacts
In its reaction to Mr Sirika’s comments, Air Peace, in a statement issued Monday by its Chief Operating Officer, Toyin Olajide, described the ex-minister’s claim as a “blatant lie”.
“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,” the statement said.
Mrs Olajide claimed that Air Peace never incurred such a loss and that the airline never paid rentals, contrary to Mr Sirika’s claims.
“The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority(NCAA) can attest to the purchase and ownership of the Aircraft by Air peace,” the statement said.
“Air Peace never stopped the Dubai operations because of lack of capacity. 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 been operating 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.”
Within the past five years after the idea of Nigeria Air was conceived by the immediate past administration of former president Muhammadu Buhari, several controversies have trailed the unveiling of the national carrier due to a lack of transparency and accountability.
READ ALSO: Nigeria Air: Sirika accuses ex-lawmaker of demanding bribe
Read the full statement from Air Peace below:
ARISE NEWS INTERVIEW: SIRIKA LIED ABOUT AIR PEACE
We watched with dismay the interview granted by former Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika to Arise TV on Sunday, June 11, 2023, where he made spurious claims about Air Peace, Nigeria’s foremost airline.
Air Peace deems it absolutely necessary to debunk these 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.
Air Peace never stopped the Dubai operations because of lack of capacity. 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 is operating 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?
We implore 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 Airpeace is being misrepresented in the public sphere, causing wrong perceptions about our brand.
SIGNED
Toyin Olajide (Mrs)
Chief Operating Officer
Air Peace
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