By Itohan Abara-Laserian
Nigeria’s biggest airline, Air Peace has insisted that every decision it has taken since the inception, whether resulting in a delay, cancellation, or suspension of flight, was in the best interest of safety of human lives and in adherence to air safety standards.
Air Peace said this in a statement issued in obvious response to the request by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for improvement in its domestic operations.
The NCAA had also on Friday held a meeting with the management of the airline on the number of complaints from passengers it received on its flight disruptions.
However, the airline, in a statement by its Head of Corporate Communications, Dr Ejike Ndiulo, in Lagos said it had no regret cancelling or delaying flights to ensure safety of human lives in adherence to air safety standards.
While empathizing with passengers who experienced inconveniences from its flight cancellations and delays, Air Peace said the disruptions were due to safety considerations.
According to the airline, if weather conditions, technical parameters or operational standards fall short of safety standards, the flight will not be operated.
“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 said.
The airline praised NCAA’s efforts in ensuring airline operators’ adherence to global safety standards.
Air Peace, however, said that it was also important to clarify that it had more aircraft than were being rostered for daily operations.
“Therefore, any delays or cancellations we have experienced have absolutely nothing to do with fleet shortage.
“For instance, on Friday, one of our aircraft experienced a bird strike, which damaged the engine while landing in Enugu.
“The aircraft was immediately grounded and withdrawn from operation in accordance with safety protocol,” it said.
Air Peace said that the aircraft was scheduled to service multiple routes, noting that its unavailability had had a ripple effect on flight operations for the routes.
“This kind of situation is completely beyond the control of any airline, but again, our priority is the safety of our 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.
“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.”
