AIR Peace has suspended its passenger flight to South Africa due to slow approval of the country’s visas to Nigerians while complaining that aviation fuel and foreign exchange were affecting its operation.
The Nigerian airline said its passenger volume to South Africa has dropped due to the slow process of obtaining the visa, likewise has affected the company’s trip from South Africa to Nigeria.
It was gathered that the suspension will take effect from August 22, 2022, to October 8, 2022, with hopes that the visa issue would be rectified within 60 days.
Air Peace in a statement released today, also cited the increased cost of aviation fuel, also known as JET A1, and forex scarcity as factors contributing to the airline’s decision to pull out of South Africa.
“This development is regretted but has become inevitable due to the delayed issuance of South African visas to travellers, worsening forex crunch and the increasing cost of aviation fuel as well as its scarcity.
“However, having informed the South African high commission in Lagos of the effects of the difficulty in getting SA visas by Nigerians, which consequence is the abysmally low passenger loads on our flights to and from Johannesburg, we believe that the situation will have improved within the next 60 days. Hence, our willingness to resume operations on October 8, 2022.”
Air Peace has urged passengers with scheduled flights to reschedule or request for refund.
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