The United Kingdom aviation authorities have expressed their willingness to address the ongoing issue of slot allocation for Air Peace, a prominent Nigerian airline, at London’s prestigious Heathrow Airport.
This development follows a formal request from the Nigerian government to secure landing slots for the airline at one of the world’s busiest and most sought-after airports.
In September 2024, Nigeria’s Minister for Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, reached out to UK aviation officials through a diplomatic letter.
The letter requested that Air Peace, a Nigerian carrier, be granted landing slots at Heathrow, citing the importance of providing Nigerian travelers with direct access to London’s primary international hub.
The letter from Keyamo was part of broader efforts by the Nigerian government to strengthen its aviation sector, improve air travel connectivity for Nigerians, and increase the presence of Nigerian airlines in key international destinations.
Air Peace, one of the largest and most successful airlines in Nigeria, has been expanding its international routes and is keen to secure Heathrow landing rights to meet the growing demand for direct flights between the UK and Nigeria.
In response, Louise Haigh, the UK Secretary of State for Transport, acknowledged the request and indicated the UK’s readiness to engage in further talks on the matter.
In her statement, she expressed that her department would be open to discussions about the issue during the upcoming International Civil Aviation Negotiations (ICAN) event, scheduled for October 2024.
The letter reads in part: “We encourage Air Peace to continue to liaise with Airports Coordination Limited, ACL, on the process for acquiring ad-hoc and historic slots at the UK’s coordinated airports.
“ACL reports that Air Peace sent late requests for slots for the Summer 2024 season and the Winter 2024/2025 season; their requests were received after the slot coordination process had concluded for each season.
“Carriers can ensure they are in the best position to receive any available slots by following the correct processes.
“As you may be aware, Heathrow Airport is constrained by runway capacity and an Air Traffic Movement limit, which places downward pressure on the number of slots available in any operating season.
“For example, for the Summer 2024 season, a total of 290,580 slots were available, but the number of slots requested reached 319,721.
“This left 29,141 unfulfilled slot requests, which were placed on a waitlist to potentially receive slots returned to the pool.
“Gatwick Airport, the second busiest in the UK, offers many connections to Europe, Asia, and North America. It benefits from a direct, mainline rail connection to central London with comparable travel times to other London airports.
“Several carriers from different nations have developed substantial and successful operations at Gatwick Airport. The Department understands the position this puts new entrant carriers in.
“ACL advises that carriers have three options in this scenario: join the waitlist, operate from another airport as Air Peace has done, or acquire slots through slot trading and commercial arrangements with other carriers.”
