The management of Air Peace Limited has said that its Chairman/ CEO, Dr. Allen Onyema did not engage in breach of aviation safety protocols during his trip to Ekiti State.
The airline, in his response to media report published by Sahara Reporters and some select online media, described the report, which accused the CEO of West African largest airline, of violating aviation safety protocols, as false and misleading.
Recall that Sahara Reporters which alleged that the Chairman/CEO of the airline, Dr Allen Onyema breached aviation safety protocols when his intended flight got disrupted because of bad weather conditions at Ekiti Agro Allied International Cargo Airport, Ado Ekiti.
The media outfit in the report, further alleged that the flight suffered disruption as a result of lack of navigational equipment at the Ekiti State owned airport.
Responding to the allegations in the media report, Air Peace Limited in a statement signed by its Head of Corporate Communication, Dr. Ejike Ndiulo insisted that the media report was false, inaccurate and misleading. He averred that the report was a deliberate misrepresentation of facts designed to malign Air Peace and its leadership.
According to Ndiulo: “We are aware of Sahara Reporters’ and select online reports that the Chairman/CEO, Air Peace Limited, Dr. Allen Onyema was “stranded” for over 24 hours at the Ekiti State Agro Allied International Cargo Airport due to the airport’s lack of navigational aids on his recent visit to Ekiti.
“We want to categorically state that this report is false, inaccurate and misleading. This is a deliberate misrepresentation of facts designed to malign Air Peace and its leadership. The claim that “his pilot took a risky manoeuvre to exit Ekiti airport to Lagos” is an outright fabrication that irresponsibly suggests a breach of aviation safety protocols—something Air Peace would never engage in.”
Narrating what transpired while waiting for the flight on that Saturday, Ndiulo said the aircraft on which the Onyema intended to return to Lagos could not land at the airport because of poor weather induced by heavy rain. This caused the Pilot to apply best industry safety practice and rerouted the flight to Lagos airport.
“Unfavourable Weather Conditions: The aircraft scheduled to pick up Dr. Onyema and his team on Saturday evening could not land in Ekiti due to poor weather conditions (heavy rain). As a standard safety precaution, the flight was rerouted back to Lagos. This is a routine occurrence in global aviation and not a reflection of any inadequacy on the part of the airport,”
Also the spokesman of the airline said no issue of risky manoeuvring of the flight from Ekiti to Lagos State never happened because it is against the safety standards operations of the airline.
“No ‘Risky Manoeuvre’: At no point did any Air Peace flight engage in unsafe operations, contrary to the false narrative pushed by Sahara Reporters. Air Peace upholds the highest international aviation safety standards, with safety as our top priority.,” he said.
Ndiulo who frowned at what he described as sensational and misleading narrative on the part of Sahara Reporters despite having been provided with accurate sequence of events, said, “this reckless journalism not only misinforms the public but also attempts to tarnish the reputation of Nigeria’s leading airline.”
He insisted, “at Air Peace, safety is not just a priority but a fundamental precondition for all our activities. We remain committed to maintaining safe and timely operations.”
