The biggest private airline in Nigeria, Air Peace, has declared that it will no longer operate flights from Nigeria to Johannesburg, South Africa.The airlines stated that the stoppage was brought on by a shortage of aviation kerosene, also known as Jet A1 fuel, and delays in visa processing.
According to the corporation, the suspension will last for 47 days, from August 22 to October 8, 2022, depending on how the situation develops.
Recall that British Airways (BA), the national carrier of the United Kingdom, this week halted the sale of short-haul flight tickets from Heathrow. Emirate Airlines also cut back on its flights to Nigeria due to fuel shortages and other issues.
However, the business expressed confidence that the problems that called for the suspension would have been resolved prior to October in a statement.
It said, “We hereby inform the flying public that effective from August 22, 2022, our Johannesburg flight operations will be suspended till October 8, 2022.
“This development is regretted but has become inevitable due to the delayed issuance of South African visas to travellers, worsening forex crunch, and the increasing cost of aviation fuel as well as its scarcity.“
However, having informed the South African High Commission in Lagos of the effects of the difficulty in getting SA visas by Nigerians, which consequence is the abysmally low passenger loads on our flights to and from Johannesburg, we believe that the situation will have improved within the next 60 days. Hence, our willingness to resume operations on October 8, 2022.“
Passengers whose flights are affected have the option of rescheduling to fly before August 22, 2022, or from October 9, 2022. Passengers can also request a refund.
“We apologise for the inconveniences caused and will keep the public updated while we hope the situation improves.”
