Nigerian threatens to bar UK airlines from Lagos, Abuja airports over Air Peace

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has written to the UK’s Secretary of State for Transport, Louise Haigh, over the non-availability of slots for Nigeria’s flag carrier, Air Peace, at Heathrow airport. Air Peace currently operates from Gatwick which is a second-tier airport, due to the fact that it was unable to get slots at Heathrow. On July 26, the Minister who spoke at the League of Airports and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) seminar in Lagos said Nigeria would no longer allow a situation where the country’s airlines are not allowed to tier one airport overseas in line with the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) saying failure not to allow Air Peace into Heathrow may lead to Nigeria taking British Airways to second tier airports. Fulfilling his threat to demand better for Air Peace, the minister in a letter dated August 1, 2024, which was addressed to the UK Secretary of State for Transport, Louise Haigh, he warned that if Nigeria’s Air Peace is not allocated a space at London Heathrow, the federal government would be forced to deny British Airways and Virgin Atlantic slots at the Lagos and Abuja airports.<br/>