Air Peace has said that it suffered a financial loss exceeding $15 million after a breach of contract by its wet-lease partner, SmartLynx Airlines, causing a week of flight disruptions.
Speaking during a press conference on Friday at the airline’s headquarters in Lagos, the Chief Commercial Officer of Air Peace, Mr. Nowel Ngala, stated that the crisis was directly triggered by the “abrupt and unjustified withdrawal” of four aircraft wet-leased from SmartLynx. A wet-lease agreement involves one airline providing an aircraft, complete crew, maintenance, and insurance to another airline.
According to Ngala, SmartLynx’s actions were not only a violation of their agreement but were done with prior knowledge that the aircraft would be repossessed. He said: “What makes this even more concerning is that SmartLynx had collected money upfront from Air Peace, fully aware that the rightful owners of those aircraft would be withdrawing their aircraft from them because they have been in default of payments to the said owners.”
Ngala said: “Over the past week, Air Peace has experienced several operational disruptions, resulting in flight delays and cancellations. We understand the inconvenience this has caused our valued customers, and we want to address these issues with full transparency. Air Peace entered a wet-lease agreement with Smartlynx because 13 of our aircraft are currently undergoing scheduled maintenance abroad. To avoid service gaps and ensure Nigerians could continue to travel conveniently, we leased aircraft from Smartlynx. These efforts were made solely to support our passengers during peak travel periods.
“The disruptions were caused by the abrupt and unjustified withdrawal of four (4) aircraft we wet-leased from SmartLynx Airlines. This withdrawal was done without prior notice, a clear violation of industry standards, and of the agreement between both parties. What makes this even more concerning is that SmartLynx had collected money upfront from Air Peace, fully aware that the rightful owners of those aircraft would be withdrawing their aircraft from them because they have been in default of payments to the said owners.
“Over $5million of our money including over a million dollars paid as security deposits for those aircraft are with them while they are about to run away from Nigeria and this situation has caused over 15 million dollars in damages to Air Peace. These aircraft had already been rostered for scheduled flights, and their sudden removal created significant gaps in our operations. It is important to note that other airlines who lease aircraft from SmartLynx from other parts of the world were similarly affected, confirming a broad pattern of unprofessional conduct. We consider this action by Smartlynx to be serious breach of contract, fraudulent, and a premeditated scheme that as inflicted financial loss and reputational damage not just to Al peace but indirectly to Nigerian traveling public, whom we serve with pride. Despite SmartLynx’s actions, Air Peace has released three of the aircraft in question to the rightful owners in good faith. One more aircraft remains, and all we are requesting for is refund of our funds.”
Ngala said this is not the first time Air Peace has been placed in a difficult situation by a lessor. He said SYPHAX Airlines of Tunisia vanished with over $2 million from Air Peace and never returned-claiming they were taking their aircraft for maintenance. He said the aircraft was never returned, and the funds remain unaccounted for till date as the airline went into bankruptcy. These actions, he said, reflect the challenges Nigerian carriers often face in international leasing arrangements.
During the briefing, which was also attended by Head of Ground Operations, Mr. Ayodeji Adeyemi, Air Peace issued an apology to its customers for the inconvenience caused. The airline said that despite these setbacks, some of its aircraft have completed maintenance and are returning to service and that two aircraft have already arrived. “Starting next week, we expect to resume full operations across all our routes as more of our aircraft return. We regret the difficulties our passengers have experienced, and we appreciate their patience and understanding throughout this period,” the airline said.
Credit: The Sun