Air Peace Airline said its acquisition of brand new planes would create 20, 000 jobs for Nigerians working in the aviation sector.
Speaking at the delivery ceremony for its third E195-E2 aircraft in Lagos, the chairman, Air Peace, Allen Onyema, explained that the acquisition of the 30 new planes, when fully operational, would create 17, 000 jobs for technical personnel in the country, in addition to the over 3,000 direct and indirect employment.
Onyema further commended the Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, for engendering tremendous changes in the sector, while adding that the industry has experienced exponential transformation since he assumed office.
Onyema said, “By next year, we hope to receive all the 13 planes we made firm orders for and by the end of 2023, we intend to activate payment for another 10 of the aircraft brand, which will bring the total to 23. We have new routes that we want to deploy the aircraft to. We have new routes that we have just opened, and more routes will still be explored in the coming months,” he revealed.
The Air Peace boss hinted that the airline would be opening Gombe soon and plans to deploy the brand new aircraft to West Coast and the broader African region.
Similarly, Onyema said the airline was planning to commence the Lagos-London route, with the assistance of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) which is working on fast-tracking the process.
Also, the Minister of Aviation has commended the Air Peace boss for the acquisition of brand new aircraft, saying the action was in tandem with federal government’s roadmap for the nation’s aviation industry.
Sirika, represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Aviation Ministry, Mr Hassan Musa, stressed that the use of brand new planes by Nigerian carriers would change the dynamics in airlines’ profitability and sustainability, by driving down maintenance and fueling costs.
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