Air Peace Airlines has denied recent media accusations citing safety violations during its operations in the United Kingdom, calling them exaggerated and sensationalised.
According to claims from various media outlets, London Gatwick Airport filed two statutory occurrence reports with the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) regarding the Nigerian flag carrier’s operations at the airport. According to the sources, the UK’s Safety Assessment of Foreign Aircraft (SAFA) contacted the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) regarding the carrier’s suspected safety infractions in London.
However, in a press statement issued on Monday by the airline’s spokesperson Stanley Olisa, the reports surfaced following the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s (UK CAA) Ramp Inspection on April 7, 2024, which examined Air Peace’s use of the Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) as well as other operational aspects.
Air Peace said that the UK CAA requested clarifications, which were swiftly provided, resulting in the matter being settled without incident. The airline stated that it has the appropriate EFB certifications from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and that all of its Boeing 777 aircraft are certified to operate with EFBs.
We are horrified to see various media outlets reporting inflated and sensationalised stories of this matter, which was resolved with the authorities over a month ago.
Air Peace has received approval from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), and all of our Boeing 777 aircraft are certified to operate with EFBs.” The idea that our B777 aircraft lack iPad mounting and charging outlets on the flight deck is untrue. All B777 aircraft have charging ports in the cockpit, and we verify that all of them have iPad mounts.
Another concern voiced by the UK CAA was the location of our cockpit library on the B777. The B777 has two areas for manuals and books: behind the captain and under the jumpseat.
During the inspection, the volumes were kept under the jumpseat, as is customary practice. “We understand the inspector’s preference for placing the books behind the captain and have made arrangements to meet this desire in future inspections.
Concerns were also raised concerning the captain’s choice of runway egress following landing. Out of professional judgement, the captain chose to evacuate at the end of the runway rather than the middle runway exit.
We acknowledge this deviation and have discussed it with the captain to ensure that preferred exit procedures are followed in the future.” Ramp inspection is a standard procedure done out by aviation authorities around the world, and the UK CAA did the proper thing by informing the NCAA of the results of their inspection.”
Air Peace voiced surprise and disgust, accusing the claims of causing unwarranted public alarm and questioning the professionalism of such gloomy journalism.
The airline assured its valued passengers and the general public that it remains committed to providing the utmost safety and security in all of its operations.
It is unethical for the media to disseminate skewed and alarmist information in order to cause public fear and undermine our deeply ingrained safety culture.
Air Peace has an outstanding safety record, and we go above and above to meet all established safety regulations. “Safety is the bedrock of our operations and we have robust operational mechanisms to guarantee full compliance always.”