FG handling Air Peace Heathrow landing slot matter internally – Minister

Following calls for a landing slot for Nigeria’s flag carrier, Air Peace, at the United Kingdom’s Heathrow Airport, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has said the Federal Government will deal with the issues internally.

Keyamo stated this on Tuesday when asked to respond to the latest letter from the United Kingdom on the matter.

Recall that Air Peace was relegated to Gatwick Airport in the UK, an aerodrome that experts likened to Nigeria’s Enugu airport, while airlines from the UK still land in Lagos and Abuja airports, Nigeria’s most viable airports.

To address this concern, the aviation minister wrote the UK government complaining about the development and threatening that should they remain adamant on not granting Air Peace a landing slot in Heathrow, flights from the foreign nation would be banned from landing in Nigeria’s top airports.

Responding to the minister, the UK Secretary of State for Transport, Louise Haigh, distanced the government from the inability of Air Peace to secure a landing slot at Heathrow Airport in London.

Haigh said the allocation of landing slots for Air Peace was not within the powers of the government, insisting that allocating landing slots to international airlines was an exclusive right of an independent company, Airports Coordination Limited.

“All foreign and domestic airlines seeking slots at coordinated airports in the UK are required to apply to the independent slot coordinator, Airports Coordination Limited, which allocates slots independently of the UK Government, using globally recognised guidelines and processes including the Worldwide Airport Slot Guidelines.

“ACL is legally required to act in a neutral, transparent, and non-discriminatory way that supports a competitive, independent market. The UK Government does not have any power to intervene in the slot allocation process of this body or to direct the coordinator on the allocation of specific slots.

“We will continue to welcome all carriers to the UK and support a competitive independent market – the allocation of slots, however, remains a matter for airlines to discuss with ACL,” the official stated.

When contacted to comment on this, the aviation minister said since it was a diplomatic matter, the governments would treat the issue internally.

“We prefer dealing with the issues internally for now since it involves our diplomatic relations. Even the letter itself got out there without our permission. You can see that the date is last month. So, at a convenient point, we will let you all know the progress on the issue,” Keyamo stated.

When contacted, a senior official of Air Peace who doesn’t want his name in print due to lack of authorisation to speak on the matter, said the management of the airline would respond at the appropriate time.

“We are not joining issues with anyone. When appropriate, our COO will respond accordingly. We will send a statement regarding it definitely when the time is ripe,” the official stated.

However, industry expert, John Ojikutu, advised the minister to restrict foreign airlines to either Lagos or Abuja, stressing that this would not only show to the world that Nigeria is on top of its games but would also generate revenue for domestic airlines.

He insisted that there was no need for a letter to be written to the UK, calling on the minister to immediately restrict all foreign airlines to one airport in Nigeria.

“Why are they making it look like we are begging them? The first thing I think the minister should do is to restrict all foreign airlines to either Lagos or Abuja. Let him do that, and you will see them begging us. There is no need for any letter. They make it look like we are just going into commercial aviation. Even in Nigeria, it is FAAN that allocates slots, and they do it twice yearly, not the government itself.”

The expert also charged Air Peace to be prepared for the high landing cost at Heathrow Airport. “Heathrow is very expensive,” Ojikutu stated.

 “Even if Air Peace is eventually allowed, they should prepare for the funding because Heathrow is a very expensive airport.”