Aircraft shortage not responsible for flight delays, Air Peace replies NCAA

Air Peace has linked the cancellation and delay of some of its flights to safety concerns, dismissing claims of aircraft shortage.

In a statement on Saturday, Ejike Ndiulo, the airline’s head of corporate communications, said flight operations will not be carried out if weather conditions, technical parameters or operational standards fall short of safety requirements.

The airline empathised with passengers who experienced inconveniences from flight cancellations and delays, but noted that the disruptions are due to safety considerations.

“It is not our policy to delay or cancel flights without due cause, and when we do, we are often the greater loser financially,” the statement reads.

“We will never sacrifice safety for convenience, comfort, speed or profit.”

The airline commended the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for requesting improvements in its domestic operations and lauded the regulator’s commitment to enforcing global safety standards across the aviation sector.

Air Peace, however, dismissed claims that it was experiencing a shortage of aircraft, saying it has more planes that are scheduled for daily operations.

“Therefore, any delays or cancellations we have experienced have absolutely nothing to do with fleet shortage,” the statement said.

“For instance, on Friday, 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“The aircraft was immediately grounded and withdrawn from operation in accordance with safety protocol.”

Air Peace said the aircraft was assigned to operate on several routes, but its withdrawal disrupted flight schedules.

“This kind of situation is completely beyond the control of any airline, but again, our priority is the safety of our passengers,” the airline added.

“It is to be stated that every decision Air Peace has taken since the inception of this airline, whether resulting in delay, cancellation or suspension of a flight, has been taken in the best interest of safety.

“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.”

On May 2, the NCAA asked Air Peace to improve its domestic operations following persistent complaints of “chronic” flight delays and cancellations by passengers.

Chris Najomo, the authority’s director-general, advised the airline to trim its operations to the size of available aircraft to mitigate the crisis.