Nigeria’s leading airline, Air Peace, has commenced direct flights to Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The first flight was operated with one of the airline’s Boeing 777 5N-BUU, on Tuesday, March 1, 2022.
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Daily Trust reports that the restart of Air Peace flight to Dubai came after an altercation between Nigeria and the UAE with the Federal Government suspending the UAE carrier, Emirates, in retaliation for denying the slots Air Peace requested for in Sharjah.
But the diplomatic row has since been restored with Air Peace granted slots to operate to Dubai Airport while Emirates has since resumed its 21 frequencies to Lagos and Abuja.
Air Peace however started a direct flight to Dubai International Airport on Tuesday amidst pomp and pageantry.
The airline in a statement said the United Arab Emirates is not a new terrain for Air Peace, as it commenced scheduled operations into the country via Sharjah Airport in July 2019, adding that the airline is glad that it can now operate three weekly direct flights into the city of Dubai.
Air Peace noted that UAE and Nigeria have a long-standing relationship and is delighted to be serving as one of the veritable means of oiling this amity, especially solidifying the economic ties between the two countries through air travel.
“Our commitment to excellence and determination to reduce the air travel burden of Africans will continue to drive our route expansion and fleet modernisation.
“It is this same excellence that we’re replicating in this service. Air Peace has recorded a lot of landmark strides in just seven years of operation.
“We now service twenty domestic routes, 6 regional routes, and two international destinations, including Johannesburg, which we launched in December 2020.
“We also have other international routes in the works, such as Houston-USA, Mumbai-India, Guangzhou-China and London.
“We’re constantly reviewing our route network in line with the needs of the flying public”, the airline said.
The airline thanked the Dubai authorities and the Nigerian Government for making this possible and pledged to work harmoniously with all the relevant aviation stakeholders to ensure optimal operation into the Dubai International Airport.