Air Peace, on Monday, announced the suspension of its operations to Johannesburg, South Africa effective from August 22, 2022, due to delayed issuance of South African visas to travellers, worsening forex crunch and the increasing cost of aviation fuel as well as its scarcity.
This was revealed by the airline in a statement it issued and made available to newsmen on Monday evening.
While informing that the suspension takes effect from August 22, 2022, the airline however expressed optimism that it will resume operations from October 8, 2022, after the South African Government must have addressed the visa issuance problem.
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 travelers, worsening forex crunch and the increasing cost of aviation fuel as well as its scarcity.
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“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.”
The airline said passengers whose flights are affected by the development have the option of rescheduling their flights to fly before August 22, 2022 or from October 9, 2022 or ask for “a refund via [email protected] and our team will attend to it promptly.”
While apologising for the inconveniences the decision may have caused, the airline promised to keep the public updated even as it hoped for an improved situation.
Source: The Eagle online