Canada Blocks Air Peace Repatriation Flight For Nigerians

Air Peace announced on Wednesday that its repatriation flight, scheduled to depart from Canada to Lagos on 14th May, has been postponed. The airline said in a statement that some logistic issues had prevented the Canadian government from allowing the flight to be operated. The Nigerian High Commission in Ottawa is in negotiations with the Canadian government to reschedule the flight to bring the Nigerian citizens home.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, explained on Thursday that the flight could not operate because the Canadian government had denied landing rights to Air Peace. At the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja, the minister said that the Canadian government had refused to grant a landing permit to the carrier. This was because the airline does not have a license to undertake commercial flights to Canada.

He added that the Nigerian High Commission is currently engaging with the Canadian government on the issue. He stated that the challenges were because Air Peace was flying the route for the first time. In a statement carried by Africa News, he said:

“The argument our High Commissioner is making is that this is not a regular commercial flight, but instead an emergency evacuation flight. So negotiations are ongoing with the Canadian government.”

The special flight, APK 8711, had planned to bring more than 200 Nigerians home from Canada to Lagos.