Six months after its foray into Kano and Yola airports on February 12 and 15, 2018, leading domestic carrier, Air Peace today commenced Kaduna flight operations from Lagos with one of its six-50-seater Embraer 145 aircraft acquired recently.
The aircraft which took off from the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) of Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA) at about 7:45am landed Kaduna international airport at 8.45am amidst pomp and ceremonies, as the airport community welcomed the airline.
The inaugural flight to Kaduna brings the airline’s destinations to 13 with 90 flights daily within the country.
Speaking at a brief ceremony at the Kaduna Airport to celebrate the inaugural flight, the Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris welcomed Air Peace with excitement, stating that Kaduna people are happy with the airline’s entering into Kaduna.
The Emir who was represented by Alhaji Shehu Tijjani, Bardan Zazzau said “Thank you for for coming to Kaduna. I wish you well in your future endeavour. I want you to also depart from Kaduna to other parts of the world”.
The Emir appealed to Management of the airline to consider using a bigger aircraft into the state and advised that they should be mindful of flight cancellations.
In his response, Chairman of Air Peace, Barrister Allen Onyema said that the launch of their Kaduna operations is a significant milestone in their vision to unite the country through air travel and also to lift the nation’s economy through trade facilitation and massive job creation.
Onyema who was represented by the Corporate Communications Manager of Air Peace, Chris Iwarah assured that the historic event accords with their strategy to expand their operations in the North of Nigeria and connect other unserved and underserved cities of the country under their no-city-left behind project.
He said “Our plan is to massively expand our operations from our base in Lagos into mini-hubs across all regions of Nigeria and the West Coast of Africa. Since the first quarter of 2018, we have acquired to serve cities with air transport difficulties under our subsidiary, Air Peace Hopper”.
He said Air Peace with a fleet six of 24 aircraft is now more positioned to transform air travel experience in Nigeria, the West Coast of Africa and beyond.
“We are prod to use our flight services to build bridges of unity in Nigeria. We are not just achievement this by extending our flight operations across Nigeria without restriction, we are also doing so with our employment policy that does not discriminate on the grounds of religion, tribe and creed”.
“We are coming into Kaduna route with a reputation for on-time performance and uncompromising stand on matters of safety. We promise to leverage the experience of our skilled staff and excellent business model to end the challenges of air travel on the Kaduna route and make Kaduna more accessible to leisure and business travellers”.
In his remark, Deputy General Manager, Human Resources of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Jacob Ijaluwoye said that the coming of air peace will give them more windows and options, adding that FAAN has facilities that will enhance the airlines operations.
“We wish Air Peace successful operations”, Ijaluwoye said.
