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By James
\nKindly Share:<\/p>\n
Air Peace Limited said on Friday that sudden disruptions in its domestic operations cost it $15 million, attributing the setback to \u2018illegal\u2019 withdrawal of three aircraft by its wet lessor, Smartlynx Airlines.<\/p>\n
Chief Commercial Officer at Air Peace, Mr Nowel Ngala, disclosed at a news conference in Lagos that the airline had experienced a number of operational disruptions, resulting in flight delays and cancellations.<\/p>\n
He said that Air Peace entered a wet-lease agreement with Smartlynx because 13 of its aircraft were undergoing scheduled maintenance abroad.<\/p>\n
According to him, to avoid service gaps and ensure Nigerians would continue to travel conveniently, the airline leased aircraft from SmartLynx.<\/p>\n
He said that the sudden withdrawal of the three aircraft was illegal and a breach of contract.
\nNgala said that the withdrawal inflicted financial loss and reputational damage to Air Peace and the Nigerian travelling public.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis withdrawal was done without prior notice. It is a clear violation of industry standards and of an agreement between both parties.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat makes this even more concerning is that SmartLynx had collected money upfront from Air Peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that the lessor claimed that the owners of the aircraft wanted them withdrawn.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver five million dollars of our money including over a million dollars paid as security deposits for those aircraft are with them (SmartLynx).<\/p>\n
\u201cThis situation has caused over 15 million dollars in damages to Air Peace. These aircraft had already been rostered for scheduled flights, and their sudden removal created significant gaps in our operations,\u201d he said.
\nNgala said that Air Peace had released three of the aircraft to the owners in good faith.<\/p>\n
According to him, one more aircraft remains, and the airline is requesting for refund.<\/p>\n
He said that was not the first time Air Peace was placed in a difficult situation by a lessor.<\/p>\n
According to him, a lessor had \u2018vanished\u2019 with over two million dollars from Air Peace in the guise that it was taking leased aircraft for maintenance.<\/p>\n
He said that the aircraft was never returned and the fund unaccounted for.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese actions, unfortunately, reflect the challenges Nigerian carriers often face in international leasing arrangements. We cannot allow that to happen again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
According to Ngala, despite the challenges, Air Peace had completed its aircraft maintenance and two had arrived for services.<\/p>\n
He said that the airline hoped to resume full operations across all its routes from next week as more of its aircraft would return.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cWe regret the difficulties our passengers have experienced, and we appreciate their patience and understanding throughout this period.<\/p>\n
\u201cAir Peace remains firmly committed to providing safe, reliable and world-class flight services.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe assure the Nigerian public that we are taking every necessary step to prevent such disruptions in the future and to hold all defaulting partners accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ngala said that the airline\u2019s London flights had not been disrupted. (NAN)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By James Kindly Share: Air Peace Limited said on Friday that sudden disruptions in its domestic operations cost it $15…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8219,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,2],"tags":[823],"class_list":["post-8218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-economy","category-news","tag-air-peace"],"yoast_head":"\n