Air Peace Ltd. has attributed sudden disruptions in its domestic operations to ‘illegal’ withdrawal of three aircraft by its wet lessor, Smartlynx Airlines.

The airline said on Friday that the disruptions cost it $15 million U.S. dollars.

The Chief Commercial Officer at Air Peace, Mr Nowel Ngala, disclosed this at a news conference in Lagos.

 According to Mr Ngala, Air Peace has experienced a number of operational disruptions, resulting in flight delays and cancellations.

He said that Air Peace entered a wet-lease agreement with Smartlynx because 13 of its aircraft were undergoing scheduled maintenance abroad.

According to him, to avoid service gaps and ensure Nigerians would continue to travel conveniently, the airline leased aircraft from SmartLynx.

He said that the sudden withdrawal of the three aircraft was illegal and a breach of contract.

Mr Ngala said that the withdrawal inflicted financial loss and reputational damage to Air peace and the Nigerian travelling public.

He stated, “This withdrawal was done without prior notice. It is a clear violation of industry standards and of an agreement between both parties. What makes this even more concerning is that SmartLynx had collected money upfront from Air Peace.”

 He said that the lessor claimed that the owners of the aircraft wanted them withdrawn.

He noted, “Over five million dollars of our money including over a million dollars paid as security deposits for those aircraft are with them (SmartLynx). This situation has caused over 15 million dollars in damages to Air Peace. These aircraft had already been rostered for scheduled flights, and their sudden removal created significant gaps in our operations,” he said.

Mr Ngala said that Air Peace had released three of the aircraft to the owners in good faith.

 According to him, one more aircraft remains, and the airline is requesting refund.

 He said that was not the first time Air Peace was placed in a difficult situation by a lessor.

 According to him, a lessor had ‘vanished’ with over two million dollars from Air Peace in the guise that it was taking leased aircraft for maintenance.

He said that the aircraft was never returned and the fund unaccounted for.

 “These actions, unfortunately, reflect the challenges Nigerian carriers often face in international leasing arrangements. We cannot allow that to happen again,” he said.

 According to Mr Ngala, despite the challenges, Air Peace completed its aircraft maintenance and two have arrived for services.

 He said that the airline hoped to resume full operations across its routes from next week as more of its aircraft would return.

 He said, “We regret the difficulties our passengers have experienced, and we appreciate their patience and understanding throughout this period. Air Peace remains firmly committed to providing safe, reliable and world-class flight services. We assure the Nigerian public that we are taking every necessary step to prevent such disruptions in the future and to hold all defaulting partners accountable.”

 Mr Ngala said that the airline’s London flights had not been disrupted.

(NAN)