Securing Heathrow Airport slot for Air Peace took several months – Keyamo
The minister of aviation and aerospace development, Festus Keyamo, has announced that Nigeria has finally secured a landing slot for Air Peace at London Heathrow Airport.
Mr Keyamo disclosed this on Monday on his X and Facebook handles, noting that the breakthrough followed several months of diplomatic engagements.
“After several months of diplomatic exchanges with my British counterpart, we finally secured the much-coveted Heathrow Airport slot for one of our flag carrier, Air Peace. Yesterday, we launched the maiden flight from Abuja to Heathrow with all the accompanying fanfare, both in Abuja and upon arrival at Heathrow,” he wrote.
The development comes nineteen months after Air Peace began its London operations through the Gatwick Airport route.
The new direct Abuja–Heathrow flight expands the airline’s international flight coverage, fulfilling a long-standing aspiration by Nigerian authorities to gain a landing slot at Europe’s busiest airport.
Mr Keyamo, who led passengers on the inaugural flight from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on Sunday, said the achievement aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s directive to support local carriers and ensure fair competition under existing bilateral air-service agreements.
“Over 100 airlines have come and gone — Concord, Belview, Sosoliso, Chanchangi, name them. We had rights under our BASAs, but no capacity, no access, no slot at Heathrow. Today, that changes,” he said.
The chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, commended the minister’s intervention and described the Heathrow slot as a victory for all Nigerian airlines.
“I could remember when customs brought in a four-per-cent FOB charge for our imports, the aviation operators went to the minister, and he stepped into it immediately. He took the matter to the finance minister and to customs. Within one week, the four per cent FOB was removed. So, this is not just about Air Peace,” Mr Onyema said.
He said the present administration has continued to address the challenges affecting the aviation industry and create an enabling environment for private airlines to operate.
“If you destroy the private sector in your country, you destroy the country. Every good economy thrives on the wealth and well-being of the private sector,” the minister added.
The flight departed Abuja on Sunday morning and arrived in London in the evening, marking what officials describe as a major milestone for Nigeria’s aviation sector.