COVID-19 Evacuation: UK denies Air Peace landing right

The planned evacuation of stranded  Nigerians in the United Kingdom has suffered a setback as British authorities  denied a Nigerian airline, Air Peace, landing permit.

The evacuation flight, earlier scheduled to depart London Heathrow airport Monday, is now rescheduled for Gatwick airport Tuesday.

This is coming against the backdrop of the evacuation of about 2,000 British nationals from Nigeria by British Airways after receiving special landing rights from the federal government.

Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Ferdinand Nwonye, announced this Sunday in a statement in Abuja.

He said a UK airline, Air Partner would  now operate the flight.

Following the refusal of the UK to grant diplomatic landing clearance to Air Peace, the federal government said it appealed to the airline to engage the services of an alternative airline to airlift the stranded citizens instead of refunding their payments, hence the use of Air Partner, one of the Global Air Charter companies advised by the British authorities.

“It is pertinent to note that Air Peace gracefully contracted Air Partner to operate these charter flights on its behalf at a much higher cost than the ticket fares paid by the prospective evacuees.

“In the light of the foregoing, the Federal Government wishes to extend its appreciation to the chairman and management of Air Peace Limited for their commitments and patriotism in ensuring that our stranded nationals in the United Kingdom return home safely,” the statement said