Air Peace: Sirika Lied, We Have Capacity and Bought Three 777s Outright

The management of Air peace has debunked the claims made by the former minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, in his interview with ARISE News on Sunday.

Sirika while praising Ethiopian Airlines during the interview, said that Air Peace 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 they were ready to fly. 

However, in a statement signed by the chief Operating Officer, Toyin Olajide, it was stated that the claim he made in the interview was a blatant lie.

“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. 

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

“Air Peace never stopped the Dubai operations because of lack of capacity.  Air Peace commenced operations into the UAE in July, 2019, but in October 2022, the UAE Government announced a total visa ban on Nigerians. 

“Neither Emirates nor Air Peace is operating the Nigerian/UAE route since the ban. The persisting non-issuance of visas and the accompanying inconveniences necessitated the suspension of our Dubai operations from November 22, 2022 till date,” the statement read

It was also stated that the claims made by Sirika, came as a shock to them and goes to show how much the minister seeks to reduce the airline.

“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 capacity?”

Air Peace also called on the pubic to disregard every claim about the airline that was made in the interview.

“We implore the general public to disregard these lies told by the former minister of Aviation against Air Peace during the ARISE TV Interview. 

“We take serious exception to a situation where Air Peace is being misrepresented in the public sphere, causing wrong perceptions about our brand.”

Chioma Kalu

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