Air Peace Demands Transit Upgrades to Exploit Nigeria-UK Corridor

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Air Peace is aggressively expanding its footprint on the high-yield Nigeria-UK corridor, while simultaneously pressing the federal authorities to urgently overhaul airport infrastructure. 

Travel News Africa reports that the flagship carrier, which now services both the Lagos–Gatwick and Abuja–Heathrow routes with direct flights, contends that the establishment of fully functional, world-class transit facilities at the nation’s primary gateways will be the deciding factor in whether Nigeria can retain a significant share of West Africa’s exploding passenger traffic in the coming decade.

With over 450,000 annual passengers, the London route remains the highlight of Nigeria’s long-haul network. Historically, this lucrative market has been overwhelmingly dominated by non-African legacy carriers, but Air Peace is executing a deliberate strategy to repatriate this market share. 

Speaking at a recent industry lecture in Lagos, Company Chairman Dr. Allen Onyema—represented by Chief Commercial Officer Noel Ngala, underscored the decades-long monopoly held by foreign players. With British Airways operating the route for over 90 years and Virgin Atlantic maintaining a long-standing foothold, the corridor has traditionally been hostile terrain for indigenous operators.

Despite three airlines now providing nonstop Nigeria–London connectivity, a staggering number of passengers still opt to route through third-party hubs in Europe, the Gulf, and North Africa. Air Peace attributes this persistent capital flight not merely to flight schedules, but to a structural deficiency: Nigeria lacks genuine transit hubs that allow passengers to connect seamlessly without the cumbersome process of reclaiming baggage and rechecking in. 

Air Peace formally entered the UK market in March 2024 with its inaugural Lagos–London Gatwick service, a route that has since witnessed consistent passenger growth. Buoyed by this commercial success and bolstered by the support of Nigerian aviation regulators, the airline launched its Abuja–Heathrow operations in October 2025. 

With daily frequencies now established from Lagos to Gatwick and multiple weekly flights linking Abuja to both Heathrow and Gatwick, Air Peace has effectively cemented its status as the dominant Nigerian operator connecting the country to the United Kingdom.

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Air Peace further emphasised that the development of seamless, automated transfer systems at Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport and Abuja’s Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport is the only way to capture the regional traffic that currently bypasses Nigerian airspace entirely. Without these critical upgrades, West Africa’s largest aviation market is in danger of permanently ceding its geographic advantage to neighbouring hubs that are consolidating their dominance.

Constructing such hubs requires more than just cosmetic renovations to terminal buildings. Industry operators argue that Nigeria must rigorously streamline border-control protocols, deploy internationally competitive automated baggage-handling systems and guarantee predictable flight turnaround times. 

The push for robust transit hubs is also intrinsically linked to the continental goals of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), which seeks to liberalise market access and foster integrated aviation ecosystems. A Nigeria equipped with modern, efficient transfer capabilities would become a linchpin in unlocking intra-African mobility, serving as a vital bridge that strengthens economic and cultural ties with key global markets.

Nigeria’s aspiration to establish itself as a regional aviation hub currently clashes with the actual situation. Despite Nigeria’s large population and geographic advantages, which position it as West Africa’s primary gateway, “infrastructure disconnects” hinder its progress.

Unlike hubs in Dubai or Addis Ababa, where bags automatically transfer between connecting flights, passengers transiting through Lagos often encounter a manual ordeal. They must clear immigration, reclaim their luggage, drag it to a different terminal (usually the domestic wing), and check in again. This friction creates a disincentive for regional travellers (e.g., a passenger flying Accra–Lagos–London) who prefer the seamless experience offered by competitors like Asky Airlines in Lome or Ethiopian Airlines in Addis Ababa.

The physical separation between the international and domestic terminals in Lagos (MMIA and MMA2/GAT) requires road transport, adding hours to connection times and increasing the risk of missed flights due to Lagos traffic.

Plus, industry reports indicate Nigeria loses billions of Naira annually by failing to capture transit traffic. These passengers pay airport taxes, shop duty-free, and use services. By lacking a “sterilised” transit In the zone where passengers can connect without formally entering the country, Nigeria misses out on the “hub economy” that benefits nations like Qatar and Ethiopia.

The absence of a functional hub in Nigeria creates a bottleneck for the entire continent’s tourism potential. If Air Peace could offer a seamless London–Lagos–Zanzibar connection, travellers might be enticed to spend 48 hours in Lagos, injecting foreign exchange into hotels, restaurants, and cultural sites. Currently, the inconvenience of transit renders this option unappealing.

Further, business tourism relies on ease of access. Nigeria’s inability to act as a seamless connector limits its appeal as a host for Pan-African conferences. Delegates from Francophone Africa often consider it easier to fly to Paris to connect to another African city than to fly through Lagos.

For Africa’s tourism to thrive, crossing borders must be easier. A functional Nigerian hub would unlock the “West African Circuit,” enabling tourists to easily hop between cultural heavyweights in Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal. 

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FAQs

1. Why is Air Peace calling for “transit hubs” in Nigeria?

Air Peace argues that for Nigeria to retain aviation revenue, it must allow passengers to connect between flights (e.g., London to Accra via Lagos) without having to reclaim bags or clear immigration, as hubs like Dubai and Heathrow do.

2. What new routes has Air Peace added to the UK?

Air Peace launched Lagos–London Gatwick in March 2024 and expanded with an Abuja–London Heathrow service in October 2025, offering daily and weekly frequencies, respectively.

3. How does the lack of transit facilities affect Nigerian tourism?

It makes people less likely to travel to other parts of the world or stop over in a different country. International visitors avoid routing through Nigeria because the transfer process is stressful and manual, causing them to choose other African hubs like Addis Ababa or Lome instead.

4. What is the “Single African Air Transport Market” (SAATM) mentioned in the story?

SAATM is an African Union initiative to create a unified air transport market in Africa. It aims to liberalise civil aviation rules and drive economic integration, which Air Peace supports in boosting intra-African travel.

5. Which foreign airlines currently compete with Air Peace on the Nigeria-UK route?

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have historically dominated the route. Air Peace is the primary Nigerian operator challenging this long-standing duopoly.