Nigeria’s leading carrier, Air Peace has fixed the launch of its maiden flight into the Akure Airport for Friday, August 11.
A statement issued by the Corporate Communications Manager of the airline, Mr. Chris Iwarah said the carrier was collaborating with the Governor Rotimi Akeredolu administration to guarantee easy access to Ondo State by investors, tourists and other categories of air travellers.
The inaugural Lagos-Akure-Lagos flight, the statement added, would take off from the airline’s Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja hub at 1pm and touch down at the Akure Airport at 1.40pm.
The return flight, Air Peace said, would depart the Akure Airport at 2.10pm and land at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos at 2.50pm.
“We are delighted to announce the commencement of our Lagos-Akure-Lagos service on Friday, August 11, 2017. Air Peace has been operating from our main hub in Lagos State since 2014 and so the launch of the second route in the South West of Nigeria is only a natural progression.
“Air Peace is pleased to have this opportunity to add such an important destination as Akure to our local route network. Akure lies geographically on the tropical belt and is bordered in the north by Ekiti and Kogi; east by Edo; west by Oyo and Ogun. Ondo is one of Nigeria’s most exciting destinations for leisure and business travel. The flights to Akure will open up a whole new opportunity for Air Peace guests to visit and explore the wealth of tourist attractions of the state as well as expand the access of investors and other categories of air travellers to connect with the state.
“The new route allows for connections to additional markets from Akure, creating a more convenient trip for those wishing to visit the city.
“We expect that our new service will contribute to the economy of Ondo State by bringing new travellers to the area from across our route network, while at the same time offering greater competitive choice for the air travel public and passenger connectivity for the area to all the destinations we serve. We anticipate that the launch will jump-start the effort of His Excellency, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu to open up the the Sunshine State to massive investment engagements.
“We are committed to offering all Air Peace guests first-class service and innovation, both on board and on the ground,” the statement said.
Air Peace, which commenced commercial flight operations to a record five destinations in 2014, currently has presence in Lagos, Abuja, Benin, Uyo, Port Harcourt, Calabar, Enugu, Owerri, Sokoto and Accra-Ghana.
Around the close of 2016, the airline embarked on a massive route and fleet expansion project. Besides securing approvals to operate flights into Lome, Monrovia, Abidjan, Dakar, Douala, Niamey and other West Coast countries of Africa, the carrier has also been designated by the Federal Government to do flights into international destinations, including Johannesburg, Atlanta, Dubai, Guangzhou-China, London and Mumbai.
Air Peace, which lifted a third of all air travellers in the country in the first quarter of this year, recently embarked on acquisition of more aircraft, comprising a couple of Boeing 737, Boeing 777 and Embraer 145 jets, to bring its fleet size to about 24 aircraft.
