Allen Onyema: Air Peace will commence direct flights from Lagos to Brazil in November

Air Peace, Nigeria’s national flag carrier, says it will commence direct flights from Lagos to Brazil in November 2025.

The plan comes after the presidency announced that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil approved the launch of direct flights by the domestic carrier from Lagos and São Paulo.

The development had followed the signing of a bilateral air services agreement (BASA) between Nigeria and Brazil during President Bola Tinubu’s state visit to the South American nation.

Addressing journalists, Allen Onyema, chief executive officer (CEO) of Air Peace, described the BASA as a milestone achieved by Tinubu’s administration.

He said the agreement represents a long-awaited aviation connectivity breakthrough.

“The Brazilian economy is the largest in Latin America. The Nigerian economy is the largest in Africa. Both countries are very rich, both in human and natural resources,” Onyema said.

“They need to tap into this. But without aviation, it is very difficult for some of these things to be actualised.”

The CEO said aviation serves as a “catalyst for development,” making the new air link vital for economic growth.

Onyema disclosed that flight operations are scheduled to begin between late November and early December 2025.

He said Air Peace will start with three weekly flights on the Lagos-Rio de Janeiro-São Paulo-Lagos route, with plans to scale up as passenger demand increases.

“We are looking forward to starting about towards (sic) the last week of November into December this year,” he said.

“We cannot start daily flights for now, but we want to start with three weekly flights. But as we go on, we’ll develop the route and increase the frequency.”

‘DIRECT FLIGHT TO BRAZIL WILL IMPROVE TIES BETWEEN BOTH COUNTRIES’

In his remarks, Mohammed Idris, minister of information and national orientation, described the BASA as a bridge to reconnect deep historical and socio-cultural ties between Nigeria and Brazil, dating back to centuries of shared history.

Reflecting on the shared history between the two nations, Idris noted the “350 years of slavery between Africa and Brazil”, adding that the agreement is a step to “reconnect, rebuild and invest” in economic, financial, social, and cultural spheres.

He said the new route would reduce travel time between Nigeria and Brazil by at least seven hours.

“Our journey, as a guest, going around the whole of Europe before you come to Brazil. It took us more than 24 hours to fly from Abuja to this place. Now, this has been cut down by about seven hours,” the minister said.

“Once this becomes commercially viable, it will not just enhance trade between the two countries, it will also improve the social, cultural cooperation that already exists between the two countries.”

Idris added that the agreement was built on a series of reciprocal official visits and cooperation talks, including engagements between Nigerian ministers of health, aviation, and science and technology with their Brazilian counterparts.