Air Peace has started daily flights from Lagos to Ilorin and Ilorin to Abuja as part of its expansion and the achievement of its goal of connecting major cities in Nigeria.
Mr. Stanley Olisa, the airline’s media director, revealed this in a statement in Lagos on Thursday.
Olisa said the inaugural flight P47110 from Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, touched down at Ilorin International Airport at 11:00 am amid excitement from stakeholders, including Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq represented by his Deputy Chief Kayode Alabi.
Olisa said that Alhaji Ota Aliyu Uthman, national president of the Progressive Descendants Union of Ilorin Emirates, representing the indigenous people of Ilorin in his country and in the Diaspora, was on the ground to greet the flight.
The airline’s chief safety officer, Captain Godfrey Ogbogu, who represented the airline’s president, Mr. Allen Onyema, said the start of flights meant the provision of more network and connectivity options for the people of the Middle Belt region.
Ogbogu also described the daily flights to Ilorin as “a milestone,” saying it would boost the state’s economy and create jobs.
He said: “If you have kept an eye on Air Peace’s trajectory, you will have noticed the expansion of our strategic and cohesive route network.
“This is driven by our unwavering determination to fill the air transport gap in Nigeria and, more importantly, to provide the Nigerian public with multiple network options.
“We are known for our ‘no city-level-behind’ initiative. The goal, in reality, is to interconnect different cities in Nigeria and beyond to have a huge impact on the economic indices of the country.
“This explains why we also extended our wings to Ilorin.
“With the support of the state government under the visionary leadership of His Excellency Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, to whom we are infinitely grateful, Air Peace promises residents of Ilorin and its surrounding areas smooth and affordable air travel.”
According to him, Air Peace is a socially sensitive and responsive airline and has constantly revised its route network according to the needs of the public while considering strategic ways to expand it to provide enormous value to Nigerians.
“This is precisely what today’s inaugural flight to Ilorin represents.
“As we begin daily flights to Ilorin today, we promise that this new route will be served optimally and that Nigerians, especially residents of Ilorin, will benefit greatly.
“We are also committed to working with all stakeholders in the state, the aviation regulator, the airport administrator and, of course, the state government, to ensure we are maximizing air travel gains and maintain the impact. ”
He asked for the continued support and cooperation of all stakeholders to keep the airline going soaring.
In his remarks read by his deputy, the governor praised the airline for making the decision.
He said Air Peace flights would support the state’s push towards industrialization.
The governor said the maiden flight was a testament to the state’s evolution as a new investment destination in Nigeria.
He pledged that the state government would provide the support and encouragement needed for the airline to be successful on the route to Ilorin.
The Vice-President of the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies, Southwest Zone, Comrade Ezekiel Afolabi, congratulated Air Peace for connecting Ilorin.
He urged the airline to replicate the same in other Southwestern states. (NAN)
