Chinedu Eze 

After many years that Nigerian airlines stopped international flights to the United Kingdom and the United States, Nigeria’s major carrier Air Peace kicked off Lagos-London Gatwick flights in March 2024 and after one year, it was able to secure Abuja-London Heathrow, a feat many Nigerians attributed to the support of the federal government and the airline’s commitment to international standard operation.

According to the airline, from October 26, 2025, Air Peace will start Abuja to London Heathrow Airport flights in addition to flying to Gatwick.

The airline’s spokesperson, Mr. Efe Osifo-Whiskey, said Air Peace would conduct direct international flight services from Abuja to both London Heathrow and London Gatwick Airports. 

According to him, Air Peace is the first Nigerian carrier to offer direct services from Abuja to both of London’s major international airports, “further solidifying its role as a leader in regional and intercontinental aviation.”

He said travellers originating from any of Air Peace’s domestic destinations across Nigeria can now book through fares via Abuja to either Heathrow or Gatwick using a single ticket, eliminating the need for multiple bookings or baggage re-checks 

Another incentive is that travellers from London can access multiple destinations across Nigeria using a single Air Peace ticket through Abuja every morning. 

These destinations are Lagos, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Benin, Warri, Owerri, Kano, Yola, Gombe and Asaba, for now. Other destinations will be added later.

The airline said it would provide a distinct competitive advantage, enabling passengers to travel between Nigeria and the United Kingdom with greater ease, efficiency, and value, due to the possibility of choosing multiple cities entry and exit points.

It has also introduced the cheapest fares ever, starting from N1 million round trip with huge baggage allowance.

“With a proven track record of challenging the status quo and pioneering transformative routes in African aviation, Air Peace continues to raise the bar with the announcement of the Abuja–London service. This latest offer, round-trip fares starting from just N1 Million and unmatched domestic connectivity is yet another bold step in democratizing international air travel for Nigerians,” the airline said in a statement. 

When the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, was appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, he said that he would empower Nigerian airlines, noting that it was the focus of the Tinubu’s administration and went further to revamp the image of Nigerian airlines by negotiating with lessors and this led to the removal of Nigeria from the global aviation leasing market’s blacklist.

Now, individual airline operators in Nigeria can directly deal with lessors to lease aircraft. Previously regarded as a risky market, Nigeria now has stronger prospects for leasing aircraft and can now engage in dry lease of aircraft, which is long term leasing, whereby the airline provides the crew, pay insurance and maintains the aircraft.

Recently, the federal government announced that it had designated Air Peace to start direct flight to Brazil immediately the airline provides aircraft for the route.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, who said that this was part of the outcome of the meeting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had with his Brazilian counterpart, President LuizInácio Lula da Silva – that Air Peace shall provide passenger service to Brazil, a Brazilian carrier, LATAM will operate cargo services between Nigeria and Brazil.
“Air Peace is to be flying between Nigeria and Brazil. LATAM, Brazil’s own airline, will be flying cargo between Nigeria and Brazil. We already have the green imperative that is already up and running.

“If you remember before this visit to Brazil, the Vice President of Brazil, who is also the Minister for Trade and Investment had visited Nigeria to further build on the green imperative, which is going to have agricultural projects in every local government in Nigeria,” the minister disclosed.
The minister also disclosed the president of both countries discussed how Brazil’s aircraft manufacturer (Embraer) would establish Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility in Nigeria for the maintenance of Embraer aircraft in West and Central Africa.
“And as soon as Air Peace secures a plane that it can put on that route, the Brazilian equivalent of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), National Civil Aviation Agency, has said they are ready to approve for them (LATAM) to start flying to Nigeria immediately.

“This is something the two presidents emphasized. President Lula said, ‘Look I am 79; President Tinubu is 73; we don’t have time. This has to be done as quickly as possible and Mr. President (Tinubu) also re-emphasized that. So, we have our marching orders, we are ready to go,” the minister said.
Air Peace which has a firm order of about 35 Embraer aircraft, including E195-E2 and E175 aircraft types of which five have been delivered to the airline. Air Peace also made firm order for 10 Boeing 737 MAX which delivery will start in 2026.

Industry observers say they are happy that Air Peace did not disappoint in the Lagos-London route, instead it became one of the airlines that operate to Gatwick airport with over 98 per cent on time performance.

Chairman and CEO of the airline, Dr. Allen Onyema, said that since the airline started the Lagos-London route it never delayed flights. According to him, “The only time we delayed flights were when the airport management directed us to arrive at later time because of maintenance work going on at the airport.”

The airline also hopes to add more international routes, including South Africa, Jeddah, India and Brazil in the coming months.

One of the reasons why the federal government is pushing that Nigerian airlines should operate international routes is because it helps to stabilise fares. Prior to when Air Peace started Lagos-London flights, economy seat was costing about N4 million charged by foreign airlines to London and other destinations. But when Air Peace started the service and crashed the fares, foreign airlines were forced to bring down their fares.

Also, it saves money for Nigeria; because it reduces capital flight when Nigerian airlines operate international destinations. They charge in naira and retain the money in Nigeria but foreign airlines repatriate their revenues, thus putting pressure on forex and diminishing the value of the naira.

Allen said: “Patriotism demands that every citizen must play his own role. Air Peace has always been playing this patriotic role. Do not forget that not so distant past, Nigerians were paying through their nose to undertake international travels. This airline came in and made flying to the UK affordable for Nigerians. Without Air Peace, that would not have happened. Today, we are happy Nigerians could fly other airlines at better prices compared to the past. You don’t need to fly Air Peace. We are not saying you must fly Air Peace. But we want you to fly those other foreign airlines at the right price.

“This is because whatever you pay to a foreign carrier depletes our reserve. So, when you overpay, it is hurting the nation. We should begin to fight for our own.  We should begin to love this country.”

Airline operators have commended the Ahmed Bola Tinubu administration for making the development of strong domestic airlines its focus and also to revamp airport infrastructure. These efforts are paying off positively for Nigerian carriers and Air Peace epitomises the success of the administration in the aviation sector.

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