Summary
- Air Peace is urging UK authorities to permit slots access at London Heathrow (LHR) and rejected the offer to fly from London Stansted or Gatwick.
- LHR slots are highly worthwhile as a result of its status as one among the busiest aviation hubs globally, offering extensive connectivity and elevating an airline’s presence.
- In congested airports like LHR, the demand for slots far exceeds the limited supply, resulting in expensive deals and fierce competition amongst airlines.
Air Peace is urging UK authorities to permit slots access at London Heathrow (LHR), based on a report by Nigerian newspaper The Whistler. The news comes because the airline has recently obtained the UK Third Country Operator (TCO) authorization.
‘Heathrow or nothing’
Following the recent approval to fly to the UK, the country’s aviation authorities have proposed Air Peace to run flight operations from either London Stansted (STN) or London Gatwick (LGW). Each airports are on the UK’s list of the highest five busiest. Nonetheless, the chief executive of the airline, Allen Onyema, rejected the offer by the UK authorities, citing the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA).
The chief executive of the airline is advocating for Air Peace to determine service to a ‘primary airport,’ emphasizing that UK carriers, including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, possess the capability to operate flights from Nigeria’s primary airports, including Muhammed International Airport (LOS) and Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport (ABV).
When discussing the alternative to say no the offer, Onyema shared his perspective with The Whistler:
“It took seven years for them to come back and do the audit. Now we now have got the approval. The subsequent thing is slots, they usually are telling us to go to London Stansted or take London Gatwick. I’m not going to Stansted or Gatwick. You come to the first airport in Nigeria, and by BASA, you benefit from the two primary airports. So, you’ll give me your personal primary airport. It have to be Heathrow or nothing.”
Photo: Fasttailwind/Shutterstock
In congested airports like LHR, the number of latest slots available could be very limited. With slot demand here vastly exceeding supply, the market has change into furious. One of the crucial expensive deals to make media attention was the acquisition in 2016 of a pair of slots by Oman Air from Air France-KLM for $75 million. Similarly, top prices were paid in 2015 by American Airlines, $60 million for a pair of slots from SAS.
Sources: The Whistler, ch-aviation.com