Air Peace has responded to a statement reportedly issued by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) urging the airline to improve its domestic operations due to alleged persistent delays and cancellations.
While expressing respect for the NCAA’s role as a regulatory authority, the airline emphasized that its operational decisions—particularly delays and cancellations—are primarily driven by safety considerations to protect passengers and crew.
According to statement by Air Peace, safety is and will always remain its cardinal priority.
“These delays and cancellations are dictated by safety considerations. We fully empathize with our esteemed passengers who experience discomfort, inconvenience, or disrupted plans due to flight delays or cancellations. However, we do not regret taking operational decisions rooted in the protection of human lives and in strict adherence to safety standards. If weather conditions, technical parameters, or operational standards fall short of what is safe, we will not operate that flight. “
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The airline further stated that it has more than enough aircraft in its fleet to meet its operational obligations contrary to the suggestions of the regulatory body.
“It is also important to clarify a key statement allegedly credited to the NCAA, that Air Peace should reduce the size of its operations to align with available aircraft. While we understand the spirit of that recommendation, we must clearly state that Air Peace has more aircraft available than are currently rostered for daily operations. Therefore, any delays or cancellations we’ve experienced have absolutely nothing to do with fleet shortage.
“For instance, today, one of our aircraft experienced a bird strike, which damaged the engine while landing in Enugu. The aircraft was immediately grounded and withdrawn from operation in accordance with safety protocol. This aircraft had been scheduled to service multiple routes today, and its unavailability has had a direct ripple effect on operations for those routes. This kind of situation is completely beyond the control of any airline, but again, our priority is the safety of our passengers.”
“It is to be stated that every decision Air Peace has taken since the inception of this airline, whether resulting in a delay, cancellation, or suspension of flight, has been taken in the best interest of safety. And if such situations occur again, we will do the same because we are not ready to compromise safety. We do not cancel any flight for the fun of it. It is not our policy to delay or cancel flights without due cause, and when we do, we are often the greater loser financially. We will never sacrifice safety for convenience, comfort, speed, or profit.
“We remain focused on serving our passengers with dignity, professionalism, and above all, unwavering adherence to safety standards.” It said.
