Fidelity Bank Plc., has celebrated Air Peace for its milestone of commencing scheduled flight operations into London, United Kingdom.
The special event, organised by the bank at the Civic Center, on Sunday, was attended by stakeholders in aviation, media personalities and well-wishers of both brands.
The Managing Director, Fidelity Bank, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, in her remarks, commended Air Peace’s giant strides and financial discipline which it has upheld since inception.
“Air Peace has been very loyal to us. We are grateful to have them as our client and we are celebrating their milestone of launching direct flight service to London and other milestones they will achieve”.
The Air Peace boss, Allen Onyema in response, thanked Fidelity Bank for the consistent support and said that the bank had contributed to the success story of the airline.
“I call it our journey with Fidelity Bank. I did not envisage this day would come when an indigenous institution would be celebrating another indigenous institution. Fidelity supports real business.
”They keep removing people from the streets of poverty. Let other banks emulate Fidelity”, he said
Onyema noted that it was not rosy for the airline to attain its current status, while he expressed gratitude to the flying public, the various aviation stakeholders, the media and the government for the continued support since it launched in 2014.
He also acknowledged the pivotal role played by former DG, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Ben Adeyileka, in helping the airline secure its Airline Operator Certificate, AOC.
He added that Air Peace was set up primarily to create employment, not to profiteer.
According to him, the motivation behind the business was to empower Nigerians economically.
“Air Peace was not borne out of the intent to profiteer but to create jobs. Air Peace was not established because I wanted more money but because of the conviction that running an airline would create massive job opportunities. That was why we went into aviation”, he said.
Highlighting how the airline never fails to engage in humanitarian interventions for Nigerians, especially the numerous evacuation flights at critical times, Onyema asserted that Air Peace truly cares about the Nigerian project and supporting the airline means supporting the growth of the Nigerian economy.
Onyema however called for the support of Nigerians to sustain the newly launched London service.
“For every penny you pay to Air Peace, you pay to sustain the jobs of thousands of Nigerians and support economic growth.
“Air Peace flies you from any of our domestic routes to London. So, you can fly from Yola to London via Lagos. From the local airport, you are taken to the international airport free of charge with a seamless luggage transfer”, Onyema affirmed.
Pledging that the airline will continue to fully adhere to the standard of safety, he lauded the Management and staff of Air Peace for the efforts in realising the London dream.
Onyema further urged for the rejection of ethnic nationalism, advocating instead for inclusive nationalism and love, stressing that Air Peace represents all Nigerians.
