Nigeria and UK in dispute over Air Peace direct landing at Heathrow airport
The media is full of reports about the letter of protest written by Minister of Aviation and Space Festus Keyamo to his UK counterpart. The letter was written to formally complain about the UK Airports Authority’s refusal to allow Nigeria’s Air Peace aircraft to land at Heathrow Airport. In a letter dated August 1, 2024 and addressed to UK Transport Secretary Louise Hague, Keyamo warned that if Air Peace does not have space, Nigeria will be forced to deny landing slots to British Airways and Virgin Atlantic at Lagos and Abuja airports “in turn”.
At London Heathrow Airport. Heathrow is the UK’s main airport, but Air Peace currently operates from Gatwick, its second largest airport. The UK’s Heathrow Airport can be compared to Nigeria’s Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, and the UK’s Gatwick Airport can be compared to Enugu International Airport. As Punch has learned, Air Peace’s efforts to secure slots at Heathrow airport, near central London, have failed. Nigeria and the UK are currently parties to a bilateral aviation safety agreement that provides for the sharing of civil aviation certification between the two countries. BASA establishes obligations and modalities of cooperation between authorities to avoid unnecessary double assessments and to facilitate the certification of aviation products by civil aviation authorities. Thus, BASA supports trade in aircraft and related products while ensuring the highest level of aviation safety.
The agreement also enables airport operators to grant equal landing rights to aircraft of member states within their jurisdiction. Some industry representatives expressed the view that the BASA agreement between Nigeria and the UK promotes specific city destinations rather than specific airports. Stakeholders said they could not specifically refer to the agreement as Heathrow does not fall under the purview of the Department of Transport and the UK government is not involved in the allocation of airport slots. They advised Air Peace to deal with the issue independently rather than escalating it. Meanwhile, the diplomatic dispute between the two countries took a new turn when the Airports Coordination Board, an independent body responsible for slot allocation in the UK, announced that Air Peace had missed two key deadlines in applying for landing slots.
The company claimed that Air Peace had failed to submit its slot requests on time for the 2024 North Summer and 2024 North Winter schedule seasons. The delay in the deadlines announced by the slot allocator further complicated the situation and raised legitimate concerns about the company’s ability to gain a foothold at one of the world’s busiest airports. An airline executive, who asked to remain anonymous given the current diplomatic nature of the issue, told our correspondent that the airline was unhappy with the British authorities’ refusal to allow Air Peace planes to land at Heathrow Airport. He noted that the airline had no intention of intervening in the issue, adding, “The important thing is that we tried hard to get seats but they claimed the crowds were too big.” Only now have I heard them claiming that we did not apply for two seasons. Are you the same as you who initially claimed there was no slot due to ratings? “As I said, we have done our due diligence and will continue to do the right thing.
We pray that God will help the pastor and get us the desired slot from him.” However, despite the UK aviation authorities persisting on the issue, the Nigerian government continues to allow the UK flag carrier to land at Nigeria’s main airport. Reacting to this development, Keyamo expressed similar dissatisfaction in his letter. Part of the diplomatic document leaked to the media reads: “The UK Slot Office has consistently refused to allocate slots to Heathrow for Air Peace on the Nigeria-London route since the company began operations in the UK in March 2024.
“The airline has consistently tried in the past to fly from Lagos to Heathrow but was refused and was only allowed to fly from Lagos to Gatwick. “After the Nigerian government granted the airline permission to operate the Abuja-London route, the airline approached the Slot Office to allocate slots at London Heathrow for operations starting from November 2024 when the IATA winter season begins. It is very disappointing that the airline has not received a positive response from the Slot Office to date.” He reminded the UK that both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic flights had been flying to Nigeria’s main airports of Lagos and Abuja without any disruptions. “Therefore, Nigerian airlines should also enjoy the same reciprocity as British airlines.” “It is extremely unfair to the British authorities and a disgrace to the Nigerian authorities and the Nigerian people at large that the allocation of slots to Nigerian airlines is still an issue. We feel betrayed by the British authorities who have not reciprocated the goodwill of the Nigerian state and people,” Keyamo wrote.
The minister called on the British Airports Authority not to use the slot allocation issue as an alibi to deny the existence of a bilateral air transport agreement between Nigeria and the UK. The character of the agreement is based on the principle of reciprocity. Following the minister’s threat, the Permanent Secretary of Aviation Peace, who declined to be named because he cannot speak on behalf of the company, told our correspondent: “Of course, the management is aware of this move between the UK and the US. We are worried about the Nigerian government, but we can only take comfort that the issue may be resolved before the deadline.”
Nigeria and UK in dispute over Air Peace direct landing at Heathrow airport
