UAE offers Air Peace seven slots to Dubai airport
As a fallout of the diplomatic row between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Nigerian government over the withdrawal of flight frequencies to Emirates Airline, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority has now offered Nigeria’s Air Peace airline seven slots to operate from Dubai airport (DBX).
In a letter circulating on social media and confirmed to have emanated from the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, signed by the Director General, Mohammed Ahil, and addressed to the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, with reference number DCAA/ASA/N-3/014, dated December 13, 2021, the regulator said it has received information from DBX that there are now available slots at terminal one and the airline has till Thursday, December 16 to respond.
The letter reads:
“We write in reference to Air Peace’s possible operations to/from Dubai Airports (DXB). We have received information from Dubai Airport with regards to slot availability at DXB Terminal 1 and as a gesture of goodwill and in support of UAE and Nigeria’s relations, in case Air Peace wants to start their flights, slots have been blocked by Dubai Airports as detailed: A0540LT D0800LT-all days and A0510LT D0800LT –without day 6.
“As these slots cannot be blocked indefinitely, we would highly appreciate if Air Peace kindly reach out to Dubai Airports and inform them of their intention to operate by Thursday, December 16, 2021, and accordingly confirm the blocked slots. For landing permission, they should contact our air transport section.”
With the letter, Air Peace would be required to pay for the approved slots and other bills from would be service providers like ground handling and catering companies, which are under the management of Emirates Airline, on or before December 16 as the slot is not guaranteed.
“Dubai Airports have also confirmed that dnata –the ground handling agent at DXB has sent the ground handling quotation to Ms Reham Mustafa, the Country Manager and also, Emirates Flights Catering, is working on the quotation and should send it out latest by tomorrow morning,” Ahil said.
The airline has not confirmed receipt of the letter and at the Presidential Task Force on Covid19 briefing on Monday, the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, said no letter has reached his office and any letter on the current aero politics between both countries must have to pass through the proper diplomatic channel before any action is taken.
Last week, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) withdrew the approval granted Emirates airline by the Ministry of Aviation following the refusal of the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) of the UAE to grant equal rights to Air Peace fly to Dubai via Sharjah. The withdrawal of approval took effect on December 12, 2021.
The UAE’s Minister of Economy, Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, who is also the head of the country’s GCAA, wrote a letter to Sirika, protesting the withdrawal of Emirate’s frequencies while insisting that Air Peace has been treated fairly.
But Sirika, in leaked audio, described the letter as ‘insulting’ and said that at the inception of this administration, the FG granted Emirates Airlines the approval for 21 flights weekly, 14 to Lagos and seven to Abuja but the UAE refused to grant Nigeria’s Air Peace three weekly frequencies to Sharjah, which the airline requested for, rather, it approved only one frequency weekly. He said the GCAA had attributed its refusal to grant three frequencies to Air Peace to inadequate slots in Sharjah airport. He said even though both countries are losing revenue as a result of the row, the Nigerian Government would continue to protect Nigerian businesses.
