From left: Vice Chairman, Air Peace, Mrs Alice Onyema; Chairman, Air Peace, Dr Allen Onyema; MD, Fidelity Bank Plc, Dr Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe; and MD, Graviti Hill Ltd, Dr Ken Onyeali-Ikpe at a special event on Sunday, April 21, 2024, organised by the bank to celebrate Air Peace’s milestone of commencing flight operations into London.
Fidelity Bank Plc last weekend celebrated Air Peace for its milestone of commencing scheduled flight operations into London, United Kingdom.
The special event, organised by the bank at Civic Center on Sunday, April 21, 2024, was graced by stakeholders in aviation, media personalities and well-wishers of both brands.
Onyeali-Ikpe Commends Air Peace
In her remarks, the Managing Director, Fidelity Bank, Dr Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, commended Air Peace’s giant strides and financial discipline which it has upheld since inception.
She added: “Air Peace has been very loyal to us. We are grateful to have them as our client and we are celebrating their milestone of launching direct flight service to London and other milestones they will achieve”.
The Chairman, Air Peace, Dr Allen Onyema, who noted that it was not rosy for the airline to attain its current status, expressed gratitude to the flying public, the various aviation stakeholders, the media and the government for the continued support since it launched in 2014.
He emphatically acknowledged the pivotal role played by former DG, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Engineer Ben Adeyileka, in helping the airline secure its Airline Operator Certificate, AOC.
Onyema Appreciates Fidelity Bank
The Air Peace boss thanked Fidelity Bank for the consistent support and stressed that the bank had contributed to the success story of the airline.
“I call it our journey with Fidelity Bank. I did not envisage this day would come when an indigenous institution would be celebrating another indigenous institution. Fidelity supports real business. They keep removing people from the streets of poverty. Let other banks emulate Fidelity”, he added.
Air Peace, Job Creation & CSR
The aviation maestro emphasised that Air Peace was set up primarily to create employment, not to profiteer. According to him, the motivation behind the business was to empower Nigerians economically.
“Air Peace was not borne out of the intent to profiteer but to create jobs. Air Peace was not established because I wanted more money but because of the conviction that running an airline would create massive job opportunities. That was why we went into aviation”, he remarked.
Highlighting how the airline nevers fails to engage in humanitarian interventions for Nigerians, especially the numerous evacuation flights at critical times, the aviation leader asserted that Air Peace truly cares about the Nigerian project and supporting the airline means supporting the growth of the Nigerian economy.
London Service: We Need Your Support- Onyema
Onyema said the airline needs the support of Nigerians to sustain the newly launched London service.
“For every penny you pay to Air Peace, you pay to sustain the jobs of thousands of Nigerians and support economic growth.
“Air Peace flies you from any of our domestic routes to London. So, you can fly from Yola to London via Lagos. From the local airport, you are taken to the international airport free of charge with a seamless luggage transfer”, Onyema affirmed.
Pledging that the airline will continue to fully adhere to the standard of safety, he lauded the Management and staff of Air Peace for the efforts in realising the London dream.
Shun Ethnic Nationalism
“Let’s shun ethnic nationalism and spread love and broad nationalism. Air Peace is not an Igbo airline. It is a Nigerian airline that belongs to two hundred million people”, Onyema stated.
