Air Peace counters claims of Chairman’s ‘stranding’ at Ekiti Airport

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Air Peace counters claims of Chairman’s ‘stranding’ at Ekiti Airport

Nigeria’s largest flag carrier, Air Peace, has dismissed reports that its Chairman, Allen Onyema, was stranded at the Ekiti State Agro Allied International Cargo Airport for 24 hours due to the airport’s lack of navigational aids.

The airline’s Head of Corporate Communications, Dr Ejike Ndiulo, in a statement, described the reports as false, inaccurate and misleading.

Ndiulo said the aircraft scheduled to pick up Onyema and his team on Saturday evening could not land in Ekiti due to poor weather conditions and was rerouted back to Lagos.

Last Saturday, Onyema, enroute to receive an award from the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, FUOYE, landed at the Ekiti airport.

Reports, however, said when Onyema was to leave Ekiti on Saturday evening after receiving the award, his flight could not be cleared to take off because there were no navigational aids and his B737 could not work out a coordinate to fly out of Ekiti airport.

Dismissing these reports, Ndiulo stated: “We are aware of select online reports that the Chairman/CEO, Air Peace Limited, Allen Onyema, was stranded for over 24 hours at the Ekiti State Agro Allied International Cargo Airport due to the airport’s lack of navigational aids on his recent visit to Ekiti.

“We want to categorically state that this report is false, inaccurate and misleading. This is a deliberate misrepresentation of facts designed to malign Air Peace and its leadership. The claim that his pilot took a risky manoeuvre to exit Ekiti airport to Lagos is an outright fabrication that irresponsibly suggests a breach of aviation safety protocols—something Air Peace would never engage in.

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“The aircraft scheduled to pick up Onyema and his team on Saturday evening could not land in Ekiti due to poor weather conditions (heavy rain). As a standard safety precaution, the flight was rerouted back to Lagos. This is a routine occurrence in global aviation and not a reflection of any inadequacy on the part of the airport.

“At no point did any Air Peace flight engage in unsafe operations, contrary to the false narrative. Air Peace upholds the highest international aviation safety standards, with safety as our top priority.

“It is disappointing that someone chose to push a sensational and misleading narrative despite having been provided with the accurate sequence of events. This reckless journalism not only misinforms the public but also attempts to tarnish the reputation of Nigeria’s leading airline.

“At Air Peace, safety is not just a priority but a fundamental precondition for all our activities. We remain committed to maintaining safe and timely operations.”