West Africa’s biggest carrier, Air Peace on Monday elevated two members of its flight crew to the rank of captain, urging them to sustain the high safety standards the carrier is reputed for.
Speaking during the decoration of Mr. Oluwasegun Fatonade and Mr. William Devine as captains at Air Peace Corporate Headquarters in Lagos, the carrier’s Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Allen Onyema said he was proud that they scaled the tough tests for donning the four-bar epaulette.
The rigorous requirements the new captains were subjected to, he insisted, were necessary to ensure they were qualified for the high quality of the airline’s flight operations.
He assured that Air Peace would continue to reward excellence as a pro-staff organisation and ensure that its workers were promoted without regard to ethnicity and favouritism.
“I’m one of the happiest persons today. I take pride in seeing people grow. We are pro-staff. In our own little way, we try to ensure that staff enjoy their time here. Anyone can become anything they want to be here without discrimination.
“I don’t meddle in matters involving selection and elevation of our flight crew. It is strictly on merit. For the flight crew training team to have adjudged the new captains worthy of flying for Air Peace, they really must be good. It says a lot about their quality. The tough tests they passed through before being selected for elevation as captains was necessary to ensure the sustenance of the high standards of our flight operations.
“It’s not everyone that was tested that made it. I urge the new captains to continue to work hard to sustain the high quality of our flight operations. The position of a captain is one that comes with huge responsibility, but I have no doubt they will excel in their new roles,” Onyema said.
For his part, Air Peace Head of Training, Captain Ndubisi Ekwempu, who presented the new captains to Onyema for decoration, described them as hardworking and dedicated members of the flight crew.
Their elevation to the left seat, he said, was well deserved. He, however, urged Captains Fatonade and Devine not to rest on their oars.
He commended Air Peace chairman for giving the training team the liberty to do their job uninfluenced. Ekwempu praised the flight crew training team for working hard to produce the new captains.
