Air Peace

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Air Peace
Air Peace logo.png
IATA ICAO Callsign
P4 APK PEACE BIRD
Founded2013; 7 years ago
Operating basesMurtala Muhammed International Airport
Fleet size27
Destinations20
HeadquartersIkeja, Lagos State, Nigeria
Key peopleAllen Onyema, CEO
Websiteflyairpeace.com

Air Peace is a private Nigerian airline founded in 2013 with its head office in Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria.[1] Air Peace, which provides passenger and charter services, serves the major cities of Nigeria and flies to several West African destinations and the Middle East. The airline also established a subsidiary - Air Peace Hopper in 2018.[2]

History[]

Founding[]

Air Peace was founded in 2013 by Nigerian lawyer and businessman Allen Onyema. Onyema claims that he started the airline with the intention of using it as an engine to provide economic opportunities to Nigerian youth.[3] The airline began operations with Dornier 328s and Boeing 737s. In 2017, the first international route to Accra in Ghana was launched. [4] By 2018, Air Peace had the largest market share in the domestic airline market in Nigeria.[5] The airline took delivery of Boeing 777s in 2018,[6] and commenced flights to Sharjah in 2019.[7] Flights to Johannesburg commenced in 2020.[8]

South Africa evacuation flights[]

Following an outbreak of xenophobic violence against foreign nationals in South Africa in September 2019, Air Peace offered to evacuate Nigerian citizens for free.[9] Over 300 persons took advantage of this offer by the airline and traveled on board specially chartered Boeing 777 flights from Johannesburg to Lagos.[10]

Money laundering allegations[]

In 2019, the US Department of Justice issued an indictment against Air Peace founder and CEO, Allen Onyema, on the grounds of money laundering and bank fraud.[11] Onyema was accused of falsifying documents used for the purchase of aeroplanes for Air Peace and using those to fund purchases of luxury cars and high-end shopping.[12] Onyema denies these allegations.[13]

Destinations[]

As of April 2021, Air Peace flies to the following destinations[14] in Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, United Arab Emirates,[15] South Africa, Senegal, Gambia and Cameroon.[16]

Country City Airport Notes Refs
Cameroon Douala Douala International Airport [17]
Gambia Banjul Banjul International Airport
Ghana Accra Kotoka International Airport [18]
Liberia Monrovia Roberts International Airport Suspended
Nigeria Abuja Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport
Akure Akure Airport
Asaba Asaba International Airport
Benin City Benin Airport
Calabar Margaret Ekpo International Airport
Enugu Akanu Ibiam International Airport
Gombe Gombe Lawanti International Airport [19]
Ibadan Ibadan Airport [20]
Ilorin Ilorin International Airport [21]
Kaduna Kaduna International Airport
Kano Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport
Lagos Murtala Muhammed International Airport Hub
Makurdi Makurdi Airport Suspended
Owerri Sam Mbakwe Airport
Port Harcourt Port Harcourt International Airport
Uyo Victor Attah International Airport
Warri Osubi Airport [22]
Yola Yola Airport [23]
Senegal Dakar Blaise Diagne International Airport
Sierra Leone Freetown Lungi International Airport
South Africa Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport
United Arab Emirates Sharjah Sharjah International Airport Suspended [24][25]

On January 31, 2020, Air Peace announced two new destinations in India and Israel would be activated before the end of the year.[26] Air Peace also operated ad hoc charter flights from Lagos to Montego Bay in Jamaica during the Christmas 2020 season.[27]

Fleet[]

An Air Peace Boeing 737-300 at Tallinn Airport in Estonia
An Air Peace Hopper Embraer 145 at Lungi International Airport in Sierra Leone

As of April 2021, Air Peace's fleet consists of the following aircraft:[28][29][30]

Air Peace fleet
Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers Notes
F J Y Total
Boeing 737-300 8 — — — 148 148
Boeing 737-500 5 — TBA 128
Boeing 737 MAX 8 — 10 TBA [31]
Boeing 777-200ER 1 — 12 42 220 274 [32][33][34]
Boeing 777-300 2 — 12 42 310 364 [35]
8 50 226 284
Embraer ERJ-145 8 — — — 50 50 Operated by Air Peace Hopper[36]
Embraer E195-E2 3 10 — 12 112 124 [37][38][39][40]
Total 27 20


In April 2021, the Chief Operations Officer of Air Peace stated that 17 of their aircraft were grounded for maintenance reasons, thus reducing the carrier's operational fleet to just 8 aircraft.[41]

Accidents and incidents[]

Safety concerns and cover-ups[]

In 2019, the Accident Investigation Bureau (Nigeria) accused Air Peace of persistent failure to report serious incidents and accidents involving its aircraft. Some issues cited by the AIB included failure to report incidents that resulted in structural damage, and erasure of Cockpit Voice Recorders prior to reporting incidents. The airline's management was cited for "willfully fail(ing) to comply" with the Bureau's regulations, and it was further stated that the management "lacks the full understanding of the statutory mandates".[42][43][44][45][46]

List of accidents and serious incidents[]

  • On 12 March 2016, an Air Peace Boeing 737 from Port Harcourt to Lagos made an emergency landing in Port Harcourt following a smoke detector indication. The aircraft was evacuated via slides and there were no serious injuries.[47]
  • On 14 December 2018, an Air Peace Boeing 737 from Lagos to Enugu with 130 passengers and 6 crew suffered a loss of cabin pressure at 31000 feet. Although the oxygen masks deployed, the crew elected to continue the flight after an emergency descent. Two passengers were subsequently treated for complications related to the decompression.[48]
  • On 15 May 2019, an Air Peace Boeing 737 from Port Harcourt to Lagos suffered a hard landing that resulted in damage to the engine pod and the landing gear. The aircraft was grounded, although no injuries were reported.[49]
  • On 22 June 2019, an Air Peace Boeing 737 with 87 passengers and 6 crew from Abuja to Port Harcourt exited the runway while landing in heavy rain and came to rest in soft mud.[50]
  • On 23 July 2019, an Air Peace Boeing 737 with 133 passengers and 6 crew landed on Lagos' runway 18R but suffered a hard touch down causing both nose wheels to separate from the nose gear strut. The aircraft skidded to a halt on the runway on main wheels and the rest of the nose gear strut. There was one minor injury. The aircraft sustained substantial damage as did the runway.[51]
  • On 5 November 2019, an Air Peace Boeing 737 with 90 passengers and 6 crew suffered an engine failure en route from Lagos to Owerri. The aircraft returned to Lagos where it landed safely without further incident.[52][53]
  • On 24 July 2021, an Air Peace Boeing 737 from Abuja to Ilorin suffered burst nose gear tires and became disabled on the runway upon landing. The airport was closed until the damaged aircraft could be safely removed from the runway.[54]

References[]

  1. ^ "About Us". Air Peace. Retrieved 2021-03-20. Head Office: 25, Sobo Arobiodu Street GRA, Ikeja, Lagos.
  2. ^ Eze, Chinedu (February 5, 2018). "Air Peace Establishes Subsidiary to Manage New Fleet". THISDAYLIVE. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  3. ^ ""Why I named my aircrafts (sic) after my wife & kids" – Air Peace Chairman, Allen Onyema". City People. 9 April 2017.
  4. ^ "Air Peace grows into Ghana". Anna.aero. 21 February 2017.
  5. ^ "How I made my fortune to start Air Peace - Onyema". Premium Times Nigeria. 25 November 2019.
  6. ^ Gary Leff (12 March 2018). "Air Peace gets Boeing 777s". View From The Wing.
  7. ^ "Air Peace flies out of Africa for the first time". Logistics Update Africa. 29 July 2019.
  8. ^ "Air Peace launches Lagos to Johannesburg". Anna.aero. 18 December 2020.
  9. ^ "Airline owner offers to 'evacuate' Nigerians from SA". eNCA. 5 Sep 2019.
  10. ^ Abdur Rahman Alfa Shaban (11 September 2019). "Over 300 Nigerians evacuated from South Africa by local airline". Africa News.
  11. ^ "CEO of Nigerian airline indicted for bank fraud and money laundering". US Department of Justice. 22 November 2019.
  12. ^ "Airline founder accused of bank fraud and laundering money to shop for jets, a Rolls Royce and Prada". CNN. 24 November 2019.
  13. ^ "Air Peace Founder, Onyema denies alleged $20 million bank fraud". NairaMetrics. 23 November 2019.
  14. ^ "Air Peace - Book A Flight". flyAirPeace.com. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  15. ^ "Nigeria's Air Peace chooses Accra for maiden int'l service". ch-aviation. 6 February 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  16. ^ "Air Peace to commence commercial flights into Johannesburg". Vanguard News. 2020-10-27. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  17. ^ "Air Peace Expands Routes to Douala, Ibadan – AutoReportNG".
  18. ^ "Nigeria's Air Peace chooses Accra for maiden int'l service". ch-aviation.com. 6 February 2017.
  19. ^ "Air Peace expands presence in North East with launch of flights into Gombe State". 12 August 2021.
  20. ^ "Oyo govt facilitates Air Peace flights to Ibadan airport". 21 July 2021.
  21. ^ https://www.sagetravels.com/air-peace-starts-cheap-flight-from-ilorin-to-lagos-abuja/
  22. ^ "Air Peace Resumes Warri, Freetown Flights". 2 July 2021.
  23. ^ "Air Peace Expands, Resumes Suspended Routes". 29 January 2021.
  24. ^ "Home". www.flyairpeace.com. Air Peace. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  25. ^ Pande, Pranjal (2021-01-21). "Nigeria's Air Peace To Resume Flights To Dubai". Simple Flying. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  26. ^ "Nigeria's Air Peace moots Asia growth in 2020". ch-aviation. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  27. ^ "Air Peace revient sur le régional et booste l'international avec l'ajout de la Jamaïque en charter" [Air Peace returns to the regional and boosts the international with the addition of Jamaica in charter]. newsaero.info (in French). Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  28. ^ "Global Airline Guide 2019 (Part One)". Airliner World (October 2019): 22.
  29. ^ "Nigeria's Air Peace eyes Boeing widebodies for inc'l ops". ch-aviation. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
  30. ^ "Air Peace Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  31. ^ "Nigeria's Air Peace signs for 10 737 MAX 8s". Flightglobal. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  32. ^ Omotayo, Joseph (Mar 21, 2019). "Air Peace gets third Boeing 777 airplane, to expand its flight operations". www.legit.ng. Retrieved Sep 18, 2019.
  33. ^ https://aeronauticsonline.com/air-peace-receives%E2%80%8B-boeing-777-aircraft-plans-routes/
  34. ^ "Please verify your request".
  35. ^ https://aeronauticsonline.com/air-peace-receives%E2%80%8B-boeing-777-aircraft-plans-routes/
  36. ^ "Air Peace Takes Delivery of Another ERJ-145 Aircraft". THISDAYLIVE. 2020-10-11. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  37. ^ "Air Peace orders up to 30 E195-E2s". flightglobal. 2019-04-03. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
  38. ^ "Embraer delivers first E195-E2 aircraft Nigerian carrier Air Peace". www.aerospace-technology.com. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  39. ^ "Air Peace takes delivery of 2nd brand new Embraer jet, calls on customs to respect gazetted laws". 18 March 2021.
  40. ^ https://www.embraercommercialaviation.com/news/first-e2-delivery-to-air-peace/
  41. ^ "Air Peace awaiting return of 17 aircraft from overseas maintenance". CAPA Center for Aviation. 19 April 2021.
  42. ^ "Air Peace Concealed Major Aircraft Incidents". Sahara Reporters. 11 June 2019.
  43. ^ "AIB slams Air Peace over failure to report incident". Nigerian News Direct. 12 June 2019.
  44. ^ "Investigation exposes how Air Peace allegedly shields its aircraft from probe". NairaMetrics. 11 June 2019.
  45. ^ "Is Air Peace safe?". One Mile at a Time. 23 July 2019.
  46. ^ "AIB accuses Air Peace of failure to report serious incidents to Bureau". Nigerian Flight Deck. 10 June 2019.
  47. ^ "Incident: Peace B735 at Port Harcourt on Mar 12th 2016, false smoke detector indication". avherald.com.
  48. ^ "Accident: Peace B733 near Enugu on Dec 14th 2018, loss of cabin pressure". avherald.com. Retrieved Sep 18, 2019.
  49. ^ "Accident: Peace B733 at Lagos on May 15th 2019, hard landing and engine pod strike". avherald.com. Retrieved Sep 18, 2019.
  50. ^ "Incident: Peace B735 at Port Harcourt on Jun 22nd 2019, runway excursion on landing". avherald.com. Retrieved Sep 18, 2019.
  51. ^ "Accident: Peace B733 at Lagos on Jul 23rd 2019, hard landing causes nose wheels to separate". avherald.com. Retrieved 2019-07-23.
  52. ^ "Nigerian bureau probes another Air Peace 737 incident". FlightGlobal. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
  53. ^ "Incident: Peace B735 at Lagos on Nov 5th 2019, engine shut down in flight". Aviation Herald.
  54. ^ "Incident: Peace B735 at Ilorin on Jul 24th 2021, burst nose gear tyre on landing". Aviation Herald.

External links[]

Media related to Air Peace at Wikimedia Commons

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