Tambuwal welcomes Air Peace inaugural flight to Sokoto

Less than two weeks after inaugurating its regional flight operations to Accra Ghana, Air Peace on Wednesday flagged off its Abuja-Sokoto-Abuja and LagosSokoto-Lagos flight services.

The inaugural flight arrived Sultan Abubakar International Airport, Sokoto en route Abuja at about 12:45 p.m. amidst excitement by travellers and the Sokoto State government officials who were waiting patiently for the flight to arrive.

Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Bashir Garba, who led other high ranking government officials to welcome the inaugural flight. The Boeing 737-300 aircraft was sprayed with water as it landed at the airport.

Tambuwal had on September 16, 2016 sent a five-man delegation led by the SSG to Lagos to meet with the Air Peace management to start operations to Sokoto.

The governor said air travellers in Sokoto were not happy with the experiences they have had with other airlines, hence the government decided to invite Air Peace to commence flight operations to the state.

He assured the airline that the government would provide it with all the necessary support, saying, “We will do everything possible to make sure that you would not regret extending your services to Sokoto State.” He said the government had already negotiated with a hotel in Sokoto to secure an office for the airline.

Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Barr. Allen Onyema, said the invitation by Sokoto State government coincided with the airline’s plan “to embark on a massive expansion project to connect different cities in Nigeria, Africa and other international destinations.”

Onyema, represented by the Quality and Safety Manager, Patrick Achurefe, said the airline recognised Sokoto as “a very strategic economic and social capital in the North and Nigeria as a whole”, adding that the airline was keen to partner the state and people of Sokoto to address the challenges of air travel in