• Minister hails airline’s London service for reducing dollar demand
• Government to support local carriers’ aircraft leasing arrangements
• No trapped funds issue to disrupt Air Peace’s UK operations
Eko Hot Blog reports that the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has commended Air Peace’s newly launched Lagos-London flight service, stating that it will help reduce the pressure on the naira against the dollar.
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Keyamo highlighted the Bola Tinubu-led government’s commitment to supporting local operators in accessing aircraft lease arrangements, akin to Air Peace’s initiative.
He emphasized that with Air Peace operating on the London route, there will be no issue of trapped funds hindering the airline’s flight services.
“All the airlines that come into Nigeria, what they experience is massive repatriation of funds that puts pressure on the Naira because they have to seek for dollars, both the commercial banks and CBN. This new development eases the pressure on Naira because this is a Nigerian company that deals in naira and buys in naira,” Keyamo stated.
The minister noted that the only challenge Air Peace might face is the need to source foreign exchange for servicing their aircraft abroad. However, he expressed confidence in attracting Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facilities to Nigeria, which would address this issue.
Addressing the challenges faced by previous airlines on the London route, Keyamo said, “The reason why previous airlines on the London Route did not survive is not because of the politics of the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA). It is about access to aircraft on favorable terms.”
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He expressed optimism for Air Peace’s success, stating, “We are going to pray for Air Peace and pray for Allen that he can sustain this. This is because he is doing this at great expense, even at marginal profit or loss to challenge and it is going to get better.”
Keyamo acknowledged Nigeria’s past challenges with dry lease arrangements due to previous experiences of lessors but assured that the new administration is committed to addressing such issues and attracting investments in the aviation sector.
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