In recent years, the Nigerian government and private firms have struggled to get air transportation correctly. The sector has faced a number of hurdles since the national carrier’s collapse in 2004, following years of consistent failure to provide superior value to consumers and stakeholders. Several studies and opinions from industry professionals and others suggest that the carrier, which began as the West African Airline Company, was plagued by leadership issues, corruption, overstaffing, and a terrible safety record.
Virgin Nigeria was founded in 2005 as part of an attempt to reintegrate Nigeria into the international aviation scene following the carrier’s demise. The airline left Nigeria’s market four years later, blaming harsh regulations and political clout. Virgin Nigeria, which had operated the London-Heathrow service, was replaced by Arik Air, which likewise failed a few years later. The demise of Air Arik bears similarities to that of the national airline. The owners, however, pointed to a lack of sufficient funding to maintain the route. Med-View carrier was the final native carrier to operate on the route in 2017.
Nigerians incurred excessive flying costs for around 7 years, at which time the country lacked a national or indigenous carrier for London and other lucrative foreign routes. This is clear from the many sources and booking sites examined by our analyst. Nigeria relaunches its footprints into one of the most lucrative international routes with the opening of Air Peace’s entry into London Gatwick Airport on March 30, 2024, following significant planning and the receipt of a Foreign Carrier Operator Permit from the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority. According to reports, foreign airlines reduced their costs on the route just days before the inauguration, when is clear that Air Peace is clearly approaching the route with a low pricing strategy.
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Our examination of the days leading up to and following the inauguration demonstrates that the Nigerian public was interested in Air Peace, cost, and the London Gatwick Airport. However, as our data in Exhibit 1 reveals, individuals were more interested in Air Peace than the cost or the airport. This, according to our analyst, suggests a good moral panic when considering the years of paying an expensive fee for the road. Their excitement is heightened when our analyst compares Air Peace’s interest to that of other players along the route, revealing that Air Peach has a high percentage of the overall interest in finding information and knowing what is going on with all of the players.
Exhibit 1: Nigerian public volume of interest in between March 24 and 31, 2024
Exhibit 2: Nigerian public volume of interest in Air Peace and select key players plying London Gatwick route between March 24 and 31, 2024
What Good Moral Panics portend for Air Peace
The admission has been hailed as a watershed moment in Nigeria’s aviation industry by both governmental and corporate leaders. Barrister Allen Onyema, the founder, is widely regarded as a trendsetter in the industry, embodying Nigeria’s ethos of conquering the globe via visionary leadership. The inauguration reopens the Fly Nigeria Act, which was proposed over ten years ago as a policy to boost domestic carriers. Experts from the Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative (ASRTI) proposed the Act twice (in 2012 and 2019).
The industry think tank noted that while many foreign airlines fly passengers out of the country and repatriate over 75% of their earnings, Nigerian airlines and the industry as a whole do not benefit from this practice. It also noted that if the Fly Nigeria Act was introduced, foreign carriers would partner with local airlines in code-share and other arrangements, and the local carriers would receive some revenue from the partnership.
Mr. Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, noted during the inauguration that Nigeria is on a blacklist for dry lease agreements, and the government is working to support local operators like Air Peace in accessing these arrangements. The goal is to protect aircraft manufacturers like Airbus from potential breaches of agreements, which can lead to significant losses for them. The London route for Air Peace will eliminate trapped funds, as it is a local company and doesn’t need to repatriate the sale of tickets to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This will help to maintain liquidity in foreign exchange, reducing the pressure on the naira as airlines seek dollars from commercial banks and the CBN.