As usual, it gives me immense pleasure, and indeed great excitement, to welcome you aboard this Air Peace flight. On behalf of our entire family at Air Peace, I thank you most sincerely for choosing to fly with us. To our many frequent flyers, whose loyalty has remained a source of immense encouragement to us, I offer a particularly heartfelt appreciation. Your continued patronage is a profound vote of confidence, and we do not take it for granted.
Every time you step aboard an Air Peace aircraft, you entrust us with something far more precious than the price of a ticket. You entrust us with your safety, your time, your plans and, ultimately, your confidence in our ability to take you to your destination safely and responsibly. We are deeply conscious of this responsibility. We shall continue to do everything humanly possible to ensure that the confidence you have reposed in us is neither abused nor taken for granted.
Let me therefore reiterate something that has remained fundamental to the Air Peace philosophy from the very beginning: Safety First is not merely a slogan for us. It is a covenant we hold absolutely sacrosanct. No schedule, commercial consideration, operational pressure or inconvenience can ever take precedence over the safety of our passengers, crew and aircraft. Where circumstances require an aircraft to remain on the ground because of weather, technical considerations, bird strikes, mandatory inspections or any other safety-related concern, we shall always choose safety. We make no apologies for that commitment.
I also owe you an honest word about the difficult operating environment in which Nigerian airlines currently find themselves. Despite the very best efforts of our management and our entire team, running an airline in Nigeria has become an increasingly expensive and financially unforgiving undertaking. Aviation is inherently capital-intensive, but our operating environment has compounded the challenge through the high cost of aviation fuel, multiple taxes and charges, expensive credit, foreign-exchange pressures, infrastructure deficiencies and operational disruptions.
The burden is substantial. Airlines contend with numerous taxes, levies, fees and charges across the aviation and airport system, while access to capital remains considerably more expensive than in many competing aviation markets. Fuel alone constitutes a major component of operating expenditure, and since the outbreak of the unfortunate crisis in the Middle East, fluctuations in its availability and cost continue to have immense consequences for airline operations. At the same time, inadequate infrastructure and operational hazards can impose enormous and sometimes unforeseen costs on carriers.
These realities do not diminish our responsibility to you. Rather, they reinforce it. We understand that when a flight is delayed or cancelled, it is not simply an entry on an operational schedule. It may mean a missed meeting, a postponed engagement, a disrupted family occasion or plans painstakingly arranged around a journey. For the delays, disruptions and cancellations that some of our passengers have experienced recently, I offer my sincere and unreserved apology.
Some of these disruptions arose from circumstances beyond our immediate control, including adverse weather, technical requirements, bird strikes and other operational challenges. Yet I fully appreciate that, from the passenger’s perspective, the inconvenience remains real regardless of its cause. That is why we are working tirelessly, in collaboration with relevant government agencies, airport authorities, technical partners and other stakeholders, to overcome these difficulties, strengthen our contingency arrangements and restore the consistency and reliability you rightly expect from Air Peace.
Our ambition extends beyond simply operating flights. We want Air Peace to remain an enduring symbol of what Nigerian enterprise can achieve when courage, discipline, innovation and a commitment to service are brought together. We have built Air Peace on the conviction that Nigerians and Africans deserve an airline that connects them safely, efficiently and with dignity, while contributing meaningfully to the growth of our economies and the strengthening of connections across our continent.
The road has not always been easy. But every challenge has strengthened our resolve. Every passenger who chooses Air Peace reminds us of the responsibility we carry and the standard to which we must hold ourselves. We shall continue to invest in our people, our fleet, our systems and our operations, while engaging constructively with government and industry stakeholders for an aviation environment in which Nigerian airlines can survive, compete and flourish.
As you settle into your seat today, I want you to know that you are more than a passenger to us. You are a valued member of the Air Peace family, and your trust is something we must continually earn.
Thank you for flying Air Peace. Thank you for believing in us. Thank you, especially, for staying with us through the difficult moments as we work to make the journey better.
It is our privilege to have you on board, and we wish you a safe, comfortable and most pleasant journey.
Welcome aboard Air Peace.Dr. Allen Onyema, CON
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Air Peace
