Nigeria: The leading airline of Nigeria, Air Peace is launching a new route from Lagos to London Gatwick. Nigeria’s – P4 Lagos, Air Peace flights are collaborating with United Kingdom’s Z0 London Gatwick, Norse Atlantic.
As per the sources, the Nigerian carrier Air Peace will begin non-stop flights between Lagos and London Gatwick from 31st March 2024. The route has been scheduled to operate five times a week with the airline’s Boeing 777-200 aircraft. The scheduled flights are:
- P47578 Lagos 00:10 – London Gatwick 06:40
- P47579 London Gatwick 11:10 – Lagos 17:40
Reportedly, the flight has started to resolve the challenges that Air Peace itself is struggling to resolve such as its slots at the British Gateway, said Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development – Festus Keyamo, concerning his recent visit to the United Kingdom to advocate for the access of Air Peace flights to Gatwick.
Keyamo recently visited the United Kingdom and met with the officials of the UK Department of Transport. During the meeting, the aviation and aerospace minister had limited options to support the carrier as the slots allocated at the British airports are governed by an independent coordinator, Airport Coordinator Limited (ACL).
Considering the same, Chief Operating Officer Oluwatoyin Olajide said that they are hopeful that the fallout of the meeting would achieve its purpose of enabling Air Peace Airline, to commence its flight operations into the United Kingdom which Nigerians were yearning for.
The Senior Vice-President of Norse Atlantic – Philip Allport confirmed and told the ch-aviation that the airlines only conducted ‘an initial informal meeting’ regarding the cooperation.
Senior Vice-President Allport also confirmed that the collaboration will also allow Air Peace to reserve 44 weekly slots for Norse Atlantic at Gatwick for the Summer season 2024.
Moreover, an ACL capacity report reviewed by Ch-aviation shows that Air Peace did not apply for slots at the airport for the upcoming season.
the collaboration between the leading airways will also offer a strategic solution to the Nigerian carrier’s slot acquisition dilemma.
It is a great cooperation for Air Peace with Norse Atlantic that provides a significant opportunity to fulfill its ambition of connecting Nigeria directly with London Gatwick. The collaboration also caters to the strong demand to travel between the two countries.
However, with the progress in discussions, the stakeholders remain hopeful for a positive outcome that will enhance connectivity and choice for passengers traveling between Nigeria and the UK.
Notably, Norse Atlantic operates its flights to several destinations from Gatwick, Bridgetown, Miami, Montego Bay, New York JFK and Orlando, and has not revealed yet whether it will lease or trade any of the slots to Air Peace.
The upcoming schedule for the airline also includes new routes to Boston and Las Vegas and is also utilizing its fleet of six Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
Whereas, Air Peace has the authority to operate in the UK in November 2023, and has to start its services due to slot acquisition challenges.
The airline’s fleet includes one 777-200ER, two 777-300s and a mix of narrowbody and regional jets. Additionally, it also operates additional aircraft such as E175s, 737-8s and E195-E2s.