Air Peace CEO highlights FG's role in deportation of Nigerians from Saudi Arabia

Allen Onyema, Air Peace's Chief Executive Officer, has blamed the government for the slow pace of development in the aviation Industry.

He said this in an interview on Channels TV while responding to the recent deportation incident in Saudi Arabia.

Legit.ng had reported that Air Peace, airlifting 264 passengers, was sent back from Saudi Arabia on arrival in Jeddah from Kano on Monday, November 13, 2023.

The government is not protecting local airlines

Onyema disclosed that since the airline started its regional flights to Accra, Lome, Banjul, and other places years ago, the company has continued to burn money on the routes.

According to him, this results from the government's failure to protect local airlines.

Expressing dissatisfaction with the operations of the airline on international routes, he said: The Nigerian airlines have been demonised over time even by the government which is supposed to be protecting them. They demonize them and praise foreign airlines.

Today, we are talking about the scarcity of dollars in the system and the failure of this economy. How do we revamp the economy when we don’t support our own?

The moment you leave your country, you are supposed to get the protection of the government but we have not been getting it. Maybe now we are trying to get it.

Despite the challenges, he said that Air Peace has continued to fight for the airline industry in Nigeria. He noted that the airline continued international flights to inspire other Nigerian airlines, not for profit.

He said: What Air Peace is doing is just fighting for the airline industry in Nigeria.We decided to continue doing all these international routes not because we are making gains but because we are there for the sake of other airlines that will come forward, for the country to start believing in their own.

According to him, Nigeria can use the airline to solve the forex challenge by attracting dollars into the system.

Recall that in its defense, the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia said the visas of Air Peace passengers were canceled because they did not meet the country's entry requirements.