Air Peace has commenced daily flights to Ilorin from Lagos and back, as well as to Abuja, as part of its expansion drive.
The move is also part of the airline’s no-city-left-behind policy to connect major cities in Nigeria.
The inaugural flight, P47110, from the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos landed at the Ilorin International Airport by 11:00 am on Thursday, and was received by the Governor of Kwara State, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, who was represented by the Deputy Governor of the state, Kayode Alabi.
Other dignitaries that welcomed the flight included the National President of the Ilorin Emirates Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU), representing Ilorin indigenes at home and in the Diaspora, Alhaji Ota Aliyu Uthman and other excited indigenes of the state who were on ground to welcome the flight.
Safety Manager of the Airline, Capt. Godfrey Ogbogu who represented the Chairman/CEO of the Airline, Mr. Allen Onyema said the commencement of the Ilorin flights, “signifies the provision of more network options and connectivity for the people in the Middle Belt region.”
Ogbogu described the daily flights into Ilorin from Lagos and Abuja as, “a momentous feat”, saying it would boost the economy of the state and generate employment for the unemployed people in the state.
“If you have been keeping tabs on the trajectory of Air Peace, you will have noticed our strategic and consistent route network expansion. This is driven by our unwavering resolve to plug the gaps in Nigeria’s air travel and more importantly, give the Nigerian flying public multiple network options.
“We are famed for our ‘no-city-level-behind’ initiative. The goal, really, is to interconnect various cities in Nigeria and beyond to tremendously impact the country’s economic indices.
“This explains why we have also extended our wings to Ilorin. With the support of the state government, under the visionary leadership of Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, whom we are profusely grateful to, Air Peace is promising the people of Ilorin and its environs seamless and affordable air travel,” Ogbogu said.
He said Air Peace is a socially sensitive and responsive airline, and as such, it constantly reviews its route network vis-à-vis the public’s needs while factoring strategic ways of expanding these routes to provide enormous value to Nigerians.
The Governor in his remarks hailed the airline for taking a great management decision to commence the flights into Ilorin from Lagos and Abuja.
Vice-President of the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA), South-West Zone Ezekiel Afolabi commended Air Peace for the bold decision to connect Ilorin flights.
