Air Peace is to resume flights to Johannesburg on October 9th. The Lagos-based carrier will once again operate services from the city’s Murtala Muhammed International Airport (LOS) to Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport (JNB).
Flights to Johannesburg were suspended on August 22nd due to delays in the issuing of South African visas to Nigerian travelers, which caused load factors to plummet. The airline also cited fuel shortages and the challenging foreign exchange environment as reasons for the suspension, which lasted a total of 47 days.
With a fleet of 33 aircraft, Air Peace is the largest airline in West Africa. Photo: Air Peace
Air Peace confirmed the service resumption in a statement, saying,
“This is to inform the flying public that our Johannesburg service resumes on October 9th, 2022. The schedules are now live on our website/mobile app, and you can now book your flights to South Africa.”
The flight schedule
From October 9th, Air Peace will fly between Lagos and Johannesburg twice per week, on Thursdays and Sundays. The flight schedule on both days is as follows:
- Flight P47563 – departs Lagos at 02:30 and arrives in Johannesburg at 09:30
- Flight P47564 – departs Johannesburg at 11:30 and arrives in Lagos at 16:30
Flights have a block time of six hours each way, and are operated by the airline’s Embraer E195-E2 aircraft. According to FlightRadar24.com, the first flight is expected to be operated by aircraft 5N-BYG, which was delivered new to Air Peace in March 2021. At 2,803miles (4,511 km) long, the route is by far the longest planned flight for the Embraer E195-E2 worldwide.
Flights to Johannesburg will be operated by the airline’s Embraer E195-E2 aircraft. Photo: Air Peace
Air Peace began flying from Lagos to Johannesburg on December 19th, 2020, at the height of the pandemic. At the time of the inaugural flight, the airline’s chairman, Allen Onyema, said,
“The inaugural flight has opened up new possibilities for intra-continental businesses, trade, as well as create improve bi-lateral relations between Nigeria and South Africa.”
Air Peace will face competition from South African Airways and ASKY Airlines on the route.
Air Peace and its varied fleet
Air Peace currently has five Embraer E195-E2s in its fleet, with a further eight on order. Each aircraft seats a total of 124 passengers in a two-class configuration – 12 in business class and 112 in economy class.
The rest of the carrier’s fleet of 33 aircraft is made up of a number of different aircraft types, including the Boeing 737-300, of which it has eight, and the Boeing 777-300, of which it has two. Air Peace also has an order for 10 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft.
Air Peace flies its Boeing 777-300 aircraft on longer routes such as Lagos to Dubai and Guangzhou. Photo: Aviation Mitch
Since it was founded in 2013, Air Peace has grown to become the largest airline in West Africa. From its hub at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, Nigeria’s national carrier operates an extensive network of domestic and regional flights. It also flies a handful of longer routes, including to Dubai (DXB) and Guangzhou (CAN).
Had you flown on Air Peace between Lagos and Johannesburg prior to the flight suspension? Will you be flying the route now that services have resumed? Share your experiences by commenting below.
