The United Arab Emirates has backed down on its face-off with Nigeria as it granted Air Peace seven slots at Dubai International Airport.
The Director General of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Mohammed A. Ahli, conveyed the country’s position to Air Peace.
In a letter dated December 13, 2021 addressed to the Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, Ahli said the Dubai Airports Authorities had confirmed and blocked seven slots for Air Peace.
The letter read: “The Dubai Civil Aviation Authority presents the compliments to the Honourable Management of Air Peace Nigeria.
“Your Excellency, relations between our two countries go a long way back and we value these relations between our two brotherly countries.
“We write in reference to Air Peace’s possible/intended operations to/from Dubai Airports (DXB), we have received information from Dubai Authority, with regard to slot availability at DXB – Terminal 1 and as a gesture of goodwill and a support of UAE and Nigeria relations, I case Air Peace wish to start flights, slots have been blocked by Dubai Airports as detailed below.
“Slots available and blocked for Air Peace are the following: All days.
“As these slots cannot be blocked indefinitely, we would highly appreciate if Air Peace could kindly reach out to Dubai Airports and inform them of their intentions to operate by Thursday 16th December 2021 and accordingly confirm the blocked slots.
“Dubai Airports have also confirmed that dnata-the ground handling agents at DXB have sent the ground handling quotation to Ms. Reham Mustafa- Country Manager and also, Emirates flight catering is working on the quotation and should send it out latest by tomorrow morning.
“For landing permission, they could contact our Air Transport section as detailed below.
“We look forward for Air Peace to operate with utmost confidence to/from DXB at the soonest.
“Dubai Civil Aviation Authority avails itself the opportunity to renew to the Honorable management of Air Peace the assurances of its highest consideration and reiterates its support at all times.”
The development comes after Nigeria kicked by reducing the slot of Emirates Airline to one for refusing to grant the three slots requested by Air Peace.
Nigeria had before the face-off granted Emirates Airline 14 slots into Nigeria, with daily flights to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja and Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.
It cancelled all the slots to Lagos and reduced that to Abuja to just one.