The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace Nigeria Limited, Dr Allen Onyema, has stated categorically that there is no negotiation at Air Peace when it comes to air safety.
This is just as he said that he decided to secure the services of the best and most expensive Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) organisation in the world, the Israeli Aerospace Industries, to maintain the airline’s airplanes because he has phobia for flying.
Onyema made these known at Day 2 of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) National Aviation Conference (FNAC) with the theme, “Elevating the Nigerian Aviation Industry Through Investment, Partnership and Global Engagements”.
Onyema, who was among the panelists selected to dissect the topic, “Trust, Safety and Governance: Reinforcing Confidence in Nigeria’s Skies”, stated that at Air Peace safety is not negotiable, and that it is safety that brings about passengers’ confidence in airlines.
He said that though the Israeli Aerospace Industries is very expensive, the importance he attached to safety, coupled with the fact that he has phobia for flying, made him go for the best and the most expensive MRO company in the world to maintain the carrier’s airplanes.
He pointed out that for any airline to succeed and gain passengers’ confidence, safety must not be negotiable but a priority.
The Air Peace boss insisted that all Nigerian airlines are safe, encouraging Nigerians to fly them whenever they get to the airport.
He, however, lamented that it is only in Nigeria you don’t find people supporting their own.
Onyema added that the self-regulation and the serious oversight carried out on the airlines in the country by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) contributed to the safety that passengers in particular and Nigeria in general are now witnessing today.
“All Nigerian airlines are very safe. Fly them. I am not speaking for Air Peace. I am speaking for Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) because I am the Vice President.
“In the last 12 years or so Nigerian airlines have not been falling from the skies because of the oversight the NCAA is carrying out on the airlines. Kudos to everybody. Let’s tell ourselves the truth, the easiest way to be out of business is to cut corners when it concerns safety.
“Please, when you get to the airport, fly any Nigerian airline with confidence. Even the smallest of the Nigerian airlines. I am not talking about Air Peace now. Even the smallest of the Nigerian airlines when it comes to safety, they don’t joke with it,” he said.
“Since I floated Air Peace I have not flown any airline. Even when Air Peace was not flying, I used my Boeing 777 aircraft,” he added.
ALLEN ONYEMA MARKETS FOR NIGERIAN AIRLINES IN RELATION TO FNAC 2025
By Ibrahim Aishat Ayomide
