

The United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has filed two mandatory occurrence reports accusing Nigeria’s Air Peace of violating safety regulations at London Gatwick Airport. These reports, which highlight alleged safety violations, have been documented in the ‘United Kingdom SAFA Ramp Inspection Report’ under reference number CAA-UK-2024-0217.
The UK’s Safety Assessment of Foreign Aircraft (SAFA) has formally notified the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) about the alleged safety breaches by Air Peace. Consequently, the NCAA issued a letter to Air Peace’s CEO, requesting corrective actions. The letter, titled ‘United Kingdom SAFA Ramp Inspection Report’ and dated May 14, 2024, was signed by Capt. O.O. Lawani, General Manager (Operations), on behalf of the Director-General of NCAA.
The NCAA’s letter references an inspection conducted on April 7, 2024, involving Air Peace’s Boeing 777-200 aircraft, registered as 5N-BE (S/N 28324). The UK CAA’s report cited the lack of operational approval for Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) functions, crucial for safe navigation, and noted the absence of mounting devices and charging points for the EFB.
Air Peace recently launched direct flights from Lagos to Gatwick Airport on March 30, under the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) between Nigeria and the UK. The inaugural flight included prominent Nigerian officials such as Festus Keyamo, Minister of Aviation, and Doris Uzoka-Anita, Minister of Trade and Investment, alongside various business leaders.
The airline’s international expansion has been met with both praise and controversy. Industry experts have lauded Air Peace’s efforts to broaden its international presence. However, in April, Air Peace Chairman Allen Onyema accused foreign airlines of conspiring to push Air Peace out of the Nigeria-UK route by aggressively slashing flight prices. Onyema warned that such actions could have severe economic repercussions for Nigeria.
