Air Peace on Friday operated its maiden flight from Lagos to Lome, Togo, saying the air connectivity between the two Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) members would deepen commercial cooperation as well as bilateral ties between them.
The safety manager of the airline, Capt Godfrey Ogbogu, stated this in a speech delivered at the inaugural ceremony in Lome.
In less than nine years, Ogbogu said the airline serves 20 domestic routes, eight regional with Togo being the latest and five international destinations, including Israel, India and China.
The safety manager stated that linking Nigeria with Togo would ease air travel and bridge connectivity gap among West African countries.
“We’re quite delighted that Togo is joining our route network, making it eighth regional routes in less than nine years since inception,” he said.
Below is the full transcript of the speech.
“Today, Air Peace is connecting another city in West Africa. In March 2022, we launched Niamey in Niger Republic. Now, we’re expanding further with the commencement of flights into Lome, Togo. It suffice to say we’re on a mission to easing air travel and bridging the connectivity gap among West African countries, and we’re quite delighted that Togo is joining our route network, making it eighth regional routes in less than nine years since inception.
“Togo and Nigeria currently have strong socio-economic ties and both countries have collaborated on significant fronts. The launch of flights by Air Peace into Lome today has given credence to these ties and will foster commercial cooperation as well as deepen bilateral ties between both countries. Nigerians come to Togo for business and other purposes and the launch of this connectivity adds fillip to this economic exchange between both countries and also advances development.
“We’re reputed for our no-city-left-behind initiative and this is not just for domestic operations. Our no-city-left-behind drive extends to the West Coast, as we’re poised to continually interconnect key cities in the sub-region, making it easy for Africans to maximise the payoffs of air travel for the collective development of all the nations. In keeping with this corporate ambition, we’re launching, very soon, flight operations into Cotonou in Benin Republic, Abidjan in Cote d’Ivoire, Congo Kinshasa and Malabo in Equatorial Guinea. Before the end of 2023, some of these routes will have been launched, because they’re already in the works.
“Air Peace will continue to provide best-in-class flight services, driven by a customer-first orientation and hinged on strict adherence to established safety standards. We’re also modernising and increasing our fleet, especially with the brand new Embraer 195-E2 aircraft, to continue to give our customers a matchless experience on board- whether domestic, regional or international.
“We currently boast of twenty domestic routes, eight regional and five international destinations, including Israel, India and China. Also planned for launch in the future are Houston-USA and London. We’re constantly reviewing our route network in line with the travel needs of the flying public.
“Lastly, we must thank the Togolese authorities, our partners here, and the Nigerian Government for making this possible, while we promise to work jointly with all the relevant aviation stakeholders to ensure this new route produces the desired outcomes for all.
“Thank you and keep choosing Air Peace.”
