Airlines feud rages as Air Peace accuses UAE of ‘peddling falsehood’ in letter to Aviation Minister

The Nigerian Air Carrier, Air Peace on Saturday penned a letter to the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, accusing the United Arab Emirate (UAE) of peddling falsehood against it.

This was related to the ongoing feud relating to the controversy over flight schedule agreements between the two countries.

Ripples Nigeria had reported that Nigeria and UAE got involved in a fresh diplomatic row within the week arising from the denial by the latter to grant Air Peace a request of three weekly flights to Sharjah Airport, granting only one flight per week.

The Aviation Minister consequently withdrew approval for the Winter Flight Schedule of 21 weekly flights to Nigeria earlier approved for Emirates Airline by the ministry, granting only one flight in retaliation to UAE action against Air Peace.

Consequently, the UAE Minister of Economy who also doubles as the Chairman of their General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Abdulla Bin Touq Al Mari wrote a letter to Sirika dated December 10, 2021.

He stated that Air Peace had operated in Sharjah Airport and shifted elsewhere coming back to request for three slots which it said was unavailable.

However, in the letter signed by Air Peace Chief Operating Officer, Oluwatoyin Olajide, the airline stated that the UAE Aviation authority misrepresented facts about what happened.

Olajide, in the letter dated December 11, 2021, stated that Air Peace has never operated in Dubai International Airport.

READ ALSO: AIB investigates Air Peace Boeing 737-300 aircraft burst tyre

He also added that it was denied flight operations in the airport under the guise of slot unavailability which made it approach Sharjah Airport that granted their request for three slots per week.

Air Peace further clarified that it did not cease operations at Sharjah Airport as alleged by the UAE GCAA chairman but just like other airlines shut down at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic which led to restrictions of flight activities.

The letter reads in parts, “Our attention has been drawn to a letter written to you by the UAE Minister of Economy who also doubles as the Chairman of their GCAA. The said letter is dated December 10, 2021and referenced GCAA/C/29-2.

“The said letter is now in the public domain and has gone viral hence our decision to write you and place the true and unassailable facts on record.

“Air Peace has never been given slots at the Dubai International Airport. Slot availability was used to deny us operating from that popular airport as it was our first choice. It was the politics of slot unavailability that did not allow us to operate into Dubai Airport directly.

“The lack of flight slot angle forced us to approach the Sharjah Airport as the last resort. We were welcomed by the government and the people of Sharjah.

“While we were denied slots in their most important airport, the Dubai Airport, Emirates has always enjoyed red carpet treatment in Nigeria where they were given our most important airports- Lagos and Abuja where they operate a total of 21 flights weekly.

“We only asked for three flights weekly at the Sharjah Airport and we got same and started operations on the 5th of July, 2019 until Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020.

“Contrary to the letter, Air Peace never ceased operating from Sharjah International Airport since we started in July 2019. We only stopped when every other airline was forced to stop normal scheduled flight operations as a result of the Covid-19 lockdowns that permitted only evacuation flights. We did several evacuation flights out of Sharjah. So, we never left Sharjah Airport nor did we at any time “shifted” and operated out of DXB (Dubai Airport). The letter deliberately painted us as unserious while at the same time, suggesting that we look for other airports in the country to operate from.

“After the restriction of scheduled flight operations between UAE and Nigeria was lifted towards the last week in November 2021, we approached the Sharjah Airport and GCAA with a request to allow us to operate a charter into the UAE on December 01, 2021.

“To our surprise and, despite the lifting of the ban on flight operations between both countries, they refused. They said they would not allow charter but scheduled flight operations,” the statement added.

It, therefore, demanded an apology from the UAE aviation authority for misinforming the public about what happened, adding that it affects the company’s public perception.

“To this end therefore and, for the fact that this falsehood contained in the said letter has painted us in bad light and gone viral, even though the UAE Minister of Economy may have been misinformed by his aides, we, still, and humbly demand a retraction of the offending accusation of “stopping, shifting and returning” and an unreserved apology tendered to Air Peace.”

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