About 20 commercial aircrafts belonging to Nigeria’s lead domestic airline, Air Peace are said to be trapped overseas due to lockdowns over COVID 19 in many countries where they were sent for maintenance since last year.
This was revealed by the company’s chief executive, Chief Allen Onyema while fielding questions on the arrival of the second Embraer 195-E2 aircraft of Air Peace which was part of the new aircrafts ordered since last year in Abuja International airport.
Continuing, he disclosed further that some airlines operating in Nigeria may shut down operations in coming weeks over the frustration they face in the hands of the Nigeria Customs Service and the crash of the naira against the dollar.
Giving more insights on why carriers were contemplating a nationwide shutdown, he said this was because the NCS was not complying fully with Federal Government’s law on waiver for airlines. On the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on aircraft maintenance, he said, “About 20 of our aircraft that were sent for maintenance are still in different parts of the world because they (countries) are experiencing various levels of lockdown.
On the just received Embraer 195-E2 new aircraft, Onyema said it was the latest invention in commercial aviation. The Air Peace boss said the airplanes would be deployed on the domestic and regional routes, adding that when the 13 aircraft would be fully delivered, they would create about 8,000 jobs.
