By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Nigerian government may prohibit British Airways and Virgin Atlantic from landing their aircraft at the international airports in Lagos and Abuja if the United Kingdom government refuses to allocate a slot to Nigeria’s Air Peace at Heathrow Airport.
Recall that in March 2024, the Nigerian airline operator commenced the Lagos to London route, but it was given a space at Gatwick Airport, which is the UK’s secondary airport and not the primary airport, Heathrow.
Air Peace has made efforts to secure a slot at Heathrow, which is at the heart of London, but the UK slot office has yet to grant the request.
Apparently infuriated by this, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, in a letter dated Thursday, August 1, 2024, according to TheCable, threatened to reciprocate if Air Peace’s demand was not met.
“The Airline had made consistent efforts in the past to fly into Heathrow Airport from Lagos, but was denied, and only granted approval to fly into Gatwick Airport from Lagos,” a part of the protest letter addressed to the UK Secretary of State for Transport, Ms Louise Haigh, read.
He reminded the UK government that British Airways have been flying to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos since 1936 without issues, and it was “necessary for Nigerian designated carriers to enjoy similar reciprocity that British carriers are enjoying.”
“It is highly unfair on the side of the British authorities and a discredit to the Nigerian authorities and the Nigerian nation as a whole, for slot allocation to Nigerian carriers to be an issue at all times. We feel totally betrayed by the British authorities for not reciprocating the good gesture of the Nigerian State and its people,” Mr Keyamo stated.
“The slot allocation issue should not be used as an alibi to deny the existence of a Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) between Nigeria and the United Kingdom, which hallmark is based on the principle of reciprocity.
“Whatever concessionary arrangements you have with your airports with third parties, the concessionaire(s) should legally inherit your existing obligations (especially those under Bi-Lateral Services Agreements) in respect of the use of those airports,” he reminded the UK government.
“Arising from the foregoing, I wish to emphatically state that if Air Peace is not allocated a slot at the London Heathrow Airport, it might be difficult for British flag carriers to access Nigeria’s tier one airports from the next Winter Season, unless when a frank discussion is opened with us to break the debacle associated with the slot allocation at Heathrow to the Airline and other Nigerian designated airlines,” he declared.
