taking the ceremonial water salute
The management of Air Peace Limited, has refuted the allegations of safety violation levied against it by some western media, saying it was a ploy to create fears in the minds of its growing passengers.
In a statement made available to African Business Travel News (ABTNEWS), management of the West and Central African largest airline insisted that it has been subjecting its operations to the best of security scrutiny since it began the operations to United Kingdom.
Describing the reports of alleged safety breach as full of falsehood, the airline affirmed that it was one of the plots of its detractors to create fears in the minds of the flying public.
“Our attention has been drawn to media reports alleging a safety breach by Air Peace in the United Kingdom, which contained a lot of falsehood aimed at creating fears and doubts in the minds of the flying public.
“From the commencement of our inaugural flight to London, our operations have been subjected to intense scrutiny by the relevant authorities, which we most welcome as we pride ourselves in our continued pursuit of operational excellence and unwavering commitment to the safety and security of our esteemed passengers,” the statement said.
Sure of its quality operational procedures, Air Peace reiterated, “We can confirm that the UK Civil Aviation Authority wrote to Air Peace, after their statutory Ramp Inspection on April 7, 2024, to request clarification on our use of the Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) and some other concerns. We provided the necessary information, and the matter was resolved without any issues.”
It continued, “It is, therefore, wrong to say we do not have approval for our EFB. Air Peace received approval from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), and all our Boeing 777 aircraft are certified to operate with EFBs.”
On the allegation that the Boeing 777 aircraft use to operate its flights on the Lagos-London route lack iPad mounts and charging ports, the airline said, “This is incorrect. All B777 aircraft are equipped with charging ports in the cockpit, and we ensure that all our B777 aircraft have iPad mounts.”
However, responding to some issues raised by the UK CAA on the location of the cockpit library on the B777, the airline said, “The B777 designates two locations for storing manuals and books: one behind the captain and one under the jumpseat. During the inspection, the books were stored under the jumpseat, as it is commonly practised. We understand the inspector’s preference for the books to be placed behind the captain and have ensured this preference is accommodated for all operations going forward.”
On the issue of its pilot’s choice of runway which the captain took out of professional discretion, Air Peace which agreed that the choice might have delayed the arrival of another aircraft using the runway, it however added that the issue has been addressed accordingly.
“There was also a concern about the captain’s choice of runway exit after landing. Instead of exiting at the middle runway exit, the captain, out of his professional discretion, opted to exit at the end of the runway. This may have delayed the arrival of another aircraft. We acknowledge this deviation and have addressed the matter with the captain to ensure adherence to preferred exit procedures in the future,” it said.
While it agreed that Ramp Inspection is a normal procedure carried out by aviation authorities globally, and the UK CAA did the right thing by notifying the NCAA of the outcome of their inspection, the management of Air Peace however expressed shock to see several media publications with exaggerated and sensationalised accounts of this matter that were closed with the authorities over a month ago.
It said, ” It is unprofessional for the media to publish slanted and alarmist reports to create public panic and impugn our deeply ingrained safety culture.
“Air Peace’s safety record is second to none, and we go above and beyond to comply with all established safety standards. Safety is the bedrock of our operations, and we have robust operational mechanisms to guarantee full compliance always.”
