Air Peace an airline based in Nigeria, has announced the acquisition of 10 Embraer E175 fleets while signing a bilateral maintenance agreement with the fleet company.
This means that the Embraer will assist in the setting up of its maintenance center in the country, where maintenance of the fleet will be carried out in the country.
Allen Onyema the Chief Executive Officer, of Air Peace said this at the Aviation Africa 2023 Summit monitored by THE WHISTLER in Abuja yesterday.
He said the decision was based on the directive given to him by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo, to drive the aviation sector forward while attracting investment through the maintenance policy.
He said, “In line with fleet modernization policy, we just signed a further acquisition, further order of 10 E175, with a stern order of five and five acquisition rights.
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“The minister called me two weeks ago and said moving forward, any Nigerian airline that wants to bring in brand-new planes must also think of maintenance capabilities for those planes in-house and within Nigeria.
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“He made it compulsory that if you are going into the acquisition, of more than 20 planes, you must show evidence that the original equipment manufacturer is going to support the setting up of a maintenance center here and for third parties here MOR. Now with the signature signed today, we have ordered 35 Embraer brand-new fleets.
“We have signed 30 before, of which five have been delivered already, the E2s. Part of the things we signed today is that Embraer is going to help set up the maintenance center in Nigeria and it will be set up with immediate effects. So, this decision will help our national reserves and help conserve the forex of airlines in Africa when this comes to fruition.”
Confirming the maintenance deal, Embraer management said the transaction is worth $ 300m while noting that delivery will begin in 2024.
Embraer said, “Ever since we started this relationship in 2017, it has been smooth and great, and today it’s a momentous day. This transaction costs $ 300m, with the airline moving forward.
“The first two aircraft will be delivered next year. The airline needs to grow. As the business moves forward, we need to work together, and the maintenance will create jobs and drive investment. And we will move forward with Air Peace to drive this growth”.
Also speaking at the event, Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo said the ministry will assist every local operator to develop.
Keyamo however warned that stringent measures are already in place, and any airline operator found not adhering to the safety rules of maintenance will be dealt with.
