By Fred Chukwuelobe 

On October 26, 2025, Air Peace Airlines Limited will add the lucrative Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja (IATA code ABV) and the London Heathrow (LHR) route to its network. The airline will also in 48 hours after, add the ABV – London Gatwick (LGW) route. This will bring to three the number of UK destinations Air Peace will be flying into, that is, in addition to its highly successful Murtala Muhammed International Airport (LOS) Lagos to London Gatwick (LGW) it currently operates.

Last August, Air Peace received another Boeing 777-200ER aircraft with registration number 5N-CEG, bringing to four the number of wide-body aircraft in its fleet to service these new routes. The upcoming London routes will increase their share of passenger volume into London, a market that had for years been dominated by foreign “big players” in the aviation industry.

As Air Peace expands its horizons with new Abuja-London routes, it will now operate direct flights from Abuja to London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports. 

Following the Abuja-London routes take off, Air Peace is taking passengers directly from Nigerian airports straight to the UK. It is also offering round-trip tickets starting from ₦1 million, which is significantly lower than the average fares offered by other airlines on that route. Passengers will be flown in Air Peace’s wide-body Boeing 777-200 aircraft, providing them with enhanced comfort and a premium cabin experience, and feted with Nigerian dishes.

The new routes will offer seamless connections to multiple destinations across Nigeria, including Lagos, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Benin, Warri, Owerri, Kano, Yola, Gombe, and Asaba, a significant milestone for Air Peace, which will undoubtedly solidify its position as a leader in local, regional, and intercontinental aviation in Nigeria. It will increase the travel options available to the flying public, reduce costs, and enhance connectivity between Nigeria and the UK. 

The launch of the two routes is a result of persistent efforts by the Tinubu administration to secure slots for Air Peace at Heathrow Airport. Chairman/CEO of the airline, Chief Allen Ifechukwu Onyema (CON), has acknowledged this and has also expressed gratitude to the British government and the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, for their support in making this route a reality. 

Speaking on the impending international routes while receiving the latest addition to the airline’s fleet, Onyema said: “Air Peace will also begin direct flights from Lagos to São Paulo, Brazil; Lagos to Antigua and Barbuda in the Caribbean. Its Lagos – Brazil direct flights will cut down on the number of hours passengers spend from Lagos to the Samba City to just seven and a half.

He added that, right from 2014 when it began commercial operations, Air Peace resolved to become a big player in not just the Nigerian aviation sector but internationally, telling the world “That Nigeria was tired of playing a second fiddle and is determined to become a big player in the industry.”

From its record seven aircraft upon its debut on October 24, 2014, Air Peace has today transcended the Nigerian aviation skies into the West African sub-region and has continued to soar into international skies where it is spreading its wings to the admiration of Nigerians who had waited with berthed breath for an airline to call their own. 

As a new airline, Air Peace began with a fleet of three (3) Dornier 328 aircraft for charter services and four (4) Boeing 737-500 aircraft with a capacity of 114 seats for both passenger and cargo services. As demand for air travel grew over the years, it became evident that more aircraft were needed to satisfy the flying public. Between 2015 and 2017, the airline acquired eight (8) additional Boeing 737-300 aircraft, each with a capacity of 136 seats. Inundated with pleas by members of the flying public to extend its services to many unserved and underserved domestic and regional routes, Air Peace procured six 50-seater Embraer 145 jets in 2018 to drive its ‘No-City-Left-Behind’ project under its subsidiary, Air Peace Hopper. 

Within two years of operations, Air Peace got its International Air Transport Association Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certificate in 2016 and was admitted as a member of IATA shortly after.

Last month, it received its second Embraer 190 aircraft, boosting its fleet and strengthening capacity for domestic and regional operations. The airline had received its first E190 last June, highlighting its strategic investment in modern, right-sized aircraft for Nigeria’s aviation sector. The 96-seater jet, with registration mark 5N-CER, will be joined by additional Embraer units expected next year. This in addition to 10 Boeing 737-Max on order fully paid and awaiting delivery. At the reception of the new aircraft in Lagos recently, Air Peace said its fleet expansion was intentional and in line with its mission to ease air travel in Nigeria and beyond its borders.

In a decade of flight operations, Air Peace has surpassed its target and today occupies the enviable position as the biggest airline in West and Central Africa, with an encouraging fleet size.

The recent laying of foundation stone for the airline’s Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility in Lagos has further solidified Air Peace not just as a challenger to foreign dominance of our skies, but as a key player in the billions of USD controlled by foreign airlines. At the foundation laying ceremony, Onyema indicated that the MRO has the capacity to cut down on the about $2.5 billion that Nigerian airlines spend annually on services in South Africa, Ethiopia, Boeing, USA; Israel; Embraer, Brazil; and the United Kingdom, among others. 

Upon completion, the MRO will create more jobs and conserve the nation’s scarce foreign reserves by checking capital flight. Onyema is leading Air Peace to challenge the status quo, and it is a matter of time before Nigerians will start enjoying lower ticket fares on international routes as their flag carrier challenges the skies. 

More than 11 years after that idea was born, it has germinated and exceeded expectations. As of today, over 3,000 people are employed by Air Peace directly with millions of others taken care of indirectly and through ancillary services.

With 38 aircraft conveying passengers to 20 local destinations and 10 regional and international airports, Air Peace is the largest Nigerian and West African airline today. It is not stopping at that as it is set to add more international destinations to its impressive network.

According to an aviation expert, “The value the airline has added to Nigeria’s image, through its corporate social responsibility projects, in airlifting Nigerians from troubled regions of the world –South Africa, Libya, Sudan, Ukraine- is unquantifiable.” 

At the moment, Air Peace is the leading light in Nigeria’s quest to become a key player in the industry. Notwithstanding some challenges occasioned by international aero politics, some orchestrated plots to sabotage the airline, and others, Air Peace has maintained a commanding presence in the skies with no single fatality crash since its inception.  This is a result of a conscious and intentional effort to make the safety of passengers and equipment a priority and, of course, Tinubu’s administration’s determination to shield the aviation sector from questionable investors and allow the Nigerian-owned airlines to soar.

Fortunately, with the Tinubu administration’s support, Air Peace is reaching farther into the skies. With Keyamo as the minister of aviation and Aerospace Development, the nation’s entry points are receiving the desired facelift and bourgeoning airlines like Air Peace will key into the new impetus and ensure that Nigeria cuts a big pie of the lucrative aviation revenue, which is currently being dominated by the likes of Ethiopian Airlines, British Airways, Qatar Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Air France, KLM, Virgin Atlantic, among others.

Air Peace is soaring in peace and safety, higher into the skies, giving Nigerians bragging rights and offering passengers the opportunity to choose their own and be treated as stakeholders rather than as foreigners.

Chukwuelobe is a Lagos-based Journalist and Aviation Analyst.