‘You Lied On National TV’—Air Peace Faults Ex-Aviation Minister’s Claim On Air Nigeria

Air Peace has accused the immediate past Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika of misleading the public about its suspension of flights to Dubai.

The former minister appeared on Arise Tv on Sunday where he clarified allegations surrounding Nigeria Air scandal.

The minister during his presentation made claims that Air Peace suspended its Dubai flights due to lack of capacity, adding that the airline had lost $19m after leasing two Boeing 777 aircraft on a monthly lease fee of $250,000.

Sirika claimed that the two aircraft were leased before Air Peace was ready to fly.

But Air Peace on Monday said, “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.”

On the claims bordering Air Peace suspension of Dubai operations, the airline called Sirkia a ‘stark’ liar over his comment.

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

The airline explained that it never stopped the Dubai operations because of lack of capacity.

Air Peace said it commenced operations in the UAE in July, 2019, but in October 2022, the UAE Government announced a total visa ban on Nigerians.

The airline said neither Emirates nor Air Peace is operating the Nigerian/UAE route since the ban.

It also explained how the persisting non-issuance of visas and the accompanying inconveniences necessitated the suspension of Dubai operations from November 22, 2022 till date.

Air Peace added, “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 which 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 in capacity?”