Air Peace debunks alleged safety violations on Lagos-London flights

 

Maureen Aguta

 

Air Peace airline has debunked the alleged safety violations of its Lagos to London flights.

The airline described the reports making the rounds as ‘falsehood aimed at creating fears and doubts in the minds of the flying public’.

This was contained in a statement issued by the management of Air Peace on Monday.

According to the statement, Air Peace disclosed that its Lagos-London flights have gone through numerous inspections since it commenced, stressing that it got the approval of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and that of the United Kingdom (UK) Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs).

“Our attention has been drawn to media reports alleging a safety breach by Air Peace in the United Kingdom, which contain 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.

“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 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,” the statement reads in part.

The airline said that the claim that its B777 aircraft lack iPad mounts and charging ports in the flight deck is incorrect – explaining that all B777 aircraft are equipped with charging ports in the cockpit, and “we ensure that all our B777 aircraft have iPad mounts.”

“Another issue raised by the UK CAA was the location of our cockpit library on the B777. 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.

“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,” the Nigerian carrier explained.

The airline emphasised that ramp inspection is a normal procedure carried out by aviation authorities globally, maintaining that the UK CAA did the right thing by notifying the NCAA of the outcome of their inspection.

It added: “However, we are shocked to see several media publications with exaggerated and sensationalised accounts of this matter that were closed with the authorities over a month ago. 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 reiterated that its safety record is second to none, thus, it goes above and beyond to comply with all established standards.

The Nigerian carrier further said that safety is the bedrock of its operations, stressing that there is availability of robust operational mechanisms to guarantee full compliance always.