By Ayomide Otitoju
Air Peace has disputed a recent flight delay report by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), describing the figures as inaccurate and saying they failed to reflect the airline’s actual operations in August 2026.
The NCAA, in its August 2026 summary of domestic airline flight disruptions, reported that Air Peace recorded 1,330 delayed flights out of 1,864 flights operated during the month. The report did not provide reasons for the delays.
In a statement signed by its Chief Operating Officer, Oluwatoyin Olajide, Air Peace said the NCAA figures contained inaccuracies in the airline’s total flight volume and did not properly account for factors that contributed to the delays.
The airline said it operated 2,564 flights in August, 700 more than the 1,864 flights recorded in the NCAA report.
According to Air Peace, excluding the additional flights from the data pool distorted its performance metrics and inflated the reported delay rate.
The airline also questioned the timing of the NCAA report and the absence of a corresponding July monthly report, noting that the August data was released 13 days after the end of the month.
Air Peace further argued that the NCAA report did not sufficiently account for industrial action in the aviation sector during August.
It said disruptions arising from union activity that began on August 11 affected its operations for more than two weeks, resulting in flight rescheduling, delays and cancellations.
The airline also called for greater distinction between delays caused by airlines and those arising from external factors beyond their control.
According to Air Peace, an internal review of its August operational data showed that 391 delayed flights, representing about 15 per cent of the total delays, were attributable to internal factors.
It said these included technical issues, unscheduled aircraft maintenance and fuel-related challenges.
The airline attributed the remaining delays to external factors, including airport congestion, bird strikes, breakdowns of airport facilities, adverse weather conditions, union picketing and damage to aircraft by ground-handling companies.
“Again, the narrative that Air Peace is primarily responsible for these delays is completely false,” the airline said, maintaining that most of the disruptions were caused by factors outside its control.
Air Peace said it had continued to invest in its fleet, crew availability, training and maintenance while working to improve on-time performance and passenger satisfaction.
It, however, noted that airlines could not completely avoid disruptions arising from airport congestion, infrastructure limitations, sunset restrictions and adverse weather.
The airline urged the NCAA to review and audit its data collection methods to ensure future reports accurately capture airline operations, delay figures and the causes of disruptions across Nigeria’s aviation sector.
