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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
Air Peace has suspended flight operations to South Africa over 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 contained in a statement issued by Air Peace management on Monday, August 8.
According to Air Peace management, the suspension of flight operations would be in place till October 8, 2022.
The statement read: “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 travellers, worsening forex crunch and the increasing cost of aviation fuel as well as its scarcity.
“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.
“Passengers whose flights are affected have the option of rescheduling to fly before August 22, 2022 or from October 9, 2022. Passengers can also request a refund via [email protected] and our team will attend to it promptly.
“We apologise for the inconveniences caused and will keep the public updated while we hope the situation improves.”