•Air Peace boss, Allen Onyema
Nigeria carrier, Air Peace, has said it will cancel and delay more flights due to safety concerns if the need arises.
It said such decisions are not taken for the fun of it.
The airline also said its business priority isn’t profit but safety, though it has more aircraft than the authority schedules daily, reports Saturday PUNCH.
Air Peace said this in a statement yesterday in reply to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority’s warnings that the airline operate in accordance with its available aircraft, insinuating that the airline was operating more routes than its available aircraft.
The NCAA had earlier yesterday complained about incessant flight disruptions by the airline, emphasizing that while the authority remains committed to supporting airlines, operators must adhere to regulatory standards and global best practices.
According to the statement, the Director General of the NCAA, Capt. Chris Najomo, told Air Peace to “immediately improve its domestic operations owing to complaints of chronic flight delays and cancellations by the traveling public.”
In its reaction, Air Peace insisted that there was no time it cancelled a flight for the fun of it, adding that safety is a cardinal priority for the airline.
“At Air Peace, safety is and will always remain our cardinal priority. These delays and cancellations are dictated by safety considerations.
“We fully empathise with our esteemed passengers who experience discomfort, inconvenience, or disrupted plans due to flight delays or cancellations.
“However, we do not regret taking operational decisions rooted in the protection of human lives and in strict adherence to safety standards.
“If weather conditions, technical parameters, or operational standards fall short of what is safe, we will not operate that flight,” the airline’s management added.
Also on the warning to the airline by the NCAA DG, for the airline to cut its coat by its size, Air Peace further emphasized it had more aircraft than scheduled for operations daily.
It stated, “It is also important to clarify a key statement allegedly credited to the NCAA, that Air Peace should reduce the size of its operations to align with available aircraft. While we understand the spirit of that recommendation, we must clearly state that Air Peace has more aircraft available than are currently rostered for daily operations.
“Therefore, any delays or cancellations we’ve experienced have absolutely nothing to do with fleet shortage.”
While asserting that the reason that often leads to flight cancellations and delays is beyond the control of any airline, Air Peace emphasized that such decisions are taken in the interest of the passengers.
“It is to be stated that every decision Air Peace has taken since the inception of this airline, whether resulting in a delay, cancellation, or suspension of flight, has been taken in the best interest of safety. And if such situations occur again, we will do the same because we are not ready to compromise safety.
“We do not cancel any flight for the fun of it. It is not our policy to delay or cancel flights without due cause, and when we do, we are often the greater loser financially.
“We will never sacrifice safety for convenience, comfort, speed, or profit,” it added.
