Air Peace suspends flights to South Africa over aviation fuel, visa delay

Citing the increasing cost of aviation fuel and scarcity as well as the delay in the issuance of visa to intending passengers, Air Peace has suspended its flights to South Africa.

The suspension, which takes effects from August 22, is for a period of 60 days, the Airline said in a notice.

The  domestic airlines had been forced to adjust their schedules over the recurring scarcity of Jet fuel as well as the skyrocketing price of the product.

But added to this, according to Air Peace, was delay by the South African authorities to issue visa to prospective passengers which was said to be affecting the load factor on Air Peace’s flight to Johannesburg.

Air Peace in the notice expressed optimism that the issues which warranted the suspension would have been addressed before October.

It said, “We hereby inform the flying public that effective from August 22, 2022, our Johannesburg flight operations will be suspended till October 8, 2022.

“This development is regretted but has become inevitable due to the delayed issuance of South African visas to travellers, worsening forex crunch and the increasing cost of aviation fuel as well as its scarcity.

“However, having informed 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 on our flights to and from Johannesburg, we believe that the situation will have improved within the next 60 days. Hence, our willingness to resume operations on the October 8, 2022.

“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.

“We apologise for the inconveniences caused and will keep the public updated while we hope the situation improves.”