Air Peace Airline has alleged that it just lost a slot in another country as a result of the current issue it is having with the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC). Recalled that the commission on Thursday in a statement said it is investigating Air Peace, categorically denying reports claiming otherwise.
A report circulated on Wednesday said that the Commission is not investigating Air Peace over allegations of exploitative ticket pricing. However, the FCCPC has labelled the reports false and sponsored.
Speaking during a press conference on Friday, Oluwatoyin Olajide, Chief Operating Officer, of Air Peace said that one of the countries it has been applying to for a slot has written to them to say they do not have a slot for it. The COO said the negative response to its request was not unconnected to its current impasse with the commission.
“A country we have writing to for a slot wrote back to us yesterday to say that they don’t have a slot for us because they said we are not their priority.
“They tell us we are not priority because of the way we are treated in our country. I just hope we can support our own. We are trying our best to put Nigeria on a global map. We need just little support. Don’t destroy our efforts,” Olajide said.
She said when people read reports suggesting that a country is against its airline, they will begin to treat the airline however they want. She said she is sure the federal government is not against indigenous investments but supports businesses.
The COO said the FCCPC don’t understand the magnitude of damage they have done to Nigeria. “We cannot allow this same airline that has rescued us to be pulled down. Today we have other African carriers that come to Nigeria and are charging very high fares. Other countries are begging us to come to their country. What we are charging today is still below what our counterparts with better conditions are charging,” Olajide said.
She wondered what criteria the FCCPC used to determine that Air Peace is charging exploitative fares considering the cost of operations in Nigeria’s aviation sector.
“Before you say an airline is exploiting passengers, you must be able to proof it. How do you come about that? There are operating costs on a flight. We buy fuel at almost 1,400 per litre. To operate one hour flight, it will take an average airline 4,000 litres of fuel. Fuel alone cost N7 million on a one hour flight,” Olajide said.
She further explained that it costs $4,000 to operate an aircraft for a one-hour flight including crew, maintenance and insurance. She said insurance costs three times more than it costs in other climes because Nigeria is stigmatised.
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