Nigerian airline, Air Peace, on Monday, declared that it has resolved to stop all flight services to Johannesburg, South Africa which will come into effect from August 22, 2022, for reasons built around delayed issuance of South African visas to travellers, worsening forex scarcity and the increasing cost of aviation fuel as well as its scarcity.
The air carrier in a statement on its official Twitter handle on Tuesday which was sighted by Africa Daily News, New York, pointed out that the development was regretted but it has become inevitable, saying the situation may improve in 60 days.
According to the airline, it has communicated to 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 to flights to and fro Johannesburg.
The statement reads, ‘Passengers whose flights are affected have the option of rescheduling to fly before August 22, 2022, or from October 9, 2022. Passengers can also request a refund via [email protected] and our team will attend to it promptly.’
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The carrier expressed regret for the trouble it had created and vowed to keep the public informed as it hoped for an improvement.
The abrupt suspension of service by Nigerian Airlines has highlighted the dangerous position of airlines in the nation and around the world. Airlines are struggling mightily to operate financially due to the crisis that has hit the sector, particularly on the increasing prices of Jet A1 fuel.
The foreign exchange (FX) liquidity crisis is eating deeper into the daily operations of the local airlines, causing airlines’ capacity to dwindle and hitting up airfares.
With aviation fuel at its all-time high and foreign exchange unavailable to meet obligations on schedule, local air travellers should brace up for tougher days ahead.
Operators have warned that the dire situation, now feasting on airlines’ operations, would worsen flight delays and cancellations, further reduce frequencies and routes, and push airfares higher as more carriers battle to stay afloat.
With 10 local airlines suddenly down to eight, the effects are telling on local travels.
On the one hand are the stranded travellers on less viable routes while on the other hand are high-frequency routes that are now affected by high fares.
