March 28, (THEWILL) – Indigenous airline, Air Peace has concluded all arrangements to commence the first direct flight from Nigeria to the State of Israel on April 20, 2023.
Before now, Nigerians and Israelis travelled for 27 hours between the two countries via other nations, when a direct flight would take just five hours.
The Israeli government has confirmed that Air Peace’s inaugural flight to Ben Gurion International Airport, Tel-Aviv, Israel would be on April 20, 2023.
The Israeli Minister of Transportation and Road Safety, Brigadier General Miri Regev, who disclosed this in Israel, noted that this would be a historical feat, as there had never been a direct flight between the Middle East nation and Nigeria.
“Nigeria’s flag carrier, Air Peace, will begin operating direct flights to Israel for the first time, starting on April 20, the Minister of Transportation and Road Safety announced recently. Minister Regev has approved the aviation agreement signed between Israel and Nigeria and submitted it for government approval.
“The signed agreement will, for the first time, allow the airlines of each of the countries to operate regular flights at Ben Gurion Airport to several destinations in Nigeria, such as Abuja and Lagos. In the first phase, the Nigerian company (airline) will operate two weekly flights between Israel and Nigeria.
“So far, no direct flights have been operated between the two countries and the thousands of pilgrims, who come to Israel every year from Nigeria have flown through Turkey or Ethiopia. The agreement will allow Israeli and Nigerian airlines to make direct flights between the countries and increase the number of pilgrims, who come to Israel every year,” an Israeli embassy source said.
Brigadier General Regev said that Israel has started opening new routes to connect the world and identified Nigeria as one of the leading countries in Africa that maintained close ties with Israel.
“Recently, we have witnessed a wave of new routes being opened to destinations all over the world, and I am happy to announce the launch of direct flights to Nigeria as well. Nigeria is one of the leading countries in Africa, and it maintains close ties with Israel in a wide variety of fields, along with traffic of pilgrims, who come to Israel to visit the holy places of Christianity. I welcome the opening of the new line and am sure that it will contribute to strengthening the business and cultural ties between the nations and between the governments,” she said.
Contacted, the elated Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, said that the airline is prepared for the inaugural and subsequent flights to the Holy Land.
He disclosed that it would begin with two flights a week and increase in frequency with time.
Onyema commended the governments of Nigeria and Israel, adding that they made it possible by breaking old barriers to make direct flight between the two countries a reality.
He said that the development is an indication of the strong relationship between the two countries.
Onyema also disclosed that the airline has completed plans to begin three times a week flight service to Jeddah and Medina in order to make it easy for Nigerians, who wish to travel for pilgrimage, adding that it is in fulfilment of the promise the airline made to Nigerians of connecting them to domestic destinations and the world.
He expressed confidence that the airline would secure approval from Saudi authorities for the flight service and in the next few days, would announce the date for the scheduled flight operation.
The airline has started a direct flight to China and on March 31, would launch another direct flight to India.
Anthony Awunor, is a business correspondent who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Linguistics (UNILAG). He is also an alumnus of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria Kaduna State. He lives in Lagos.
