Waiver: Air Peace saves N13bn on 13 new aircraft

Air Peace said it has saved N13 billion on its 13 new aircraft due to the duty waiver granted by the federal government.

The Chairman of Air Peace, Mr Allen Onyema, hailed the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration for granting airline operators waiver on importation of aircraft, as well as removing Value Added Tax (VAT) from air tickets.

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He said with the decision the airline had saved N985m each from the 13 brand new aircraft, E195-E2, it ordered from Embraer, revealing that three of the aircraft had arrived while the remaining 10 were being expected.

Speaking with Daily Trust shortly after Air Peace sealed a N1.2bn deal with the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), Mr Onyema said the waiver which was granted to indigenous airlines had greatly helped the carrier.

“The brand new planes Air Peace imported, each one of them, if we are to pay duty, it would be about 985m per aircraft. Now I am bringing 13 aircraft. So multiply N985m by 13. Let’s say almost a billion that the federal government and President Buhari have saved Air Peace. That’s about N13bn that I would have paid as duty.”

The airline had projected to provide over 8,000 jobs with the 13 aircraft on order. It also has purchase right for 17 of the same aircraft type.