Air Peace, an indigenous airline, will launch a historic direct flight from Nigeria to the State of Israel on April 20, 2023.
Air Peace is a private Nigerian airline founded in 2013 with its head office in Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria, the flag carrier and the largest airline of Nigeria and West Africa
The airline is also considering a three-times-a-week flight to Jeddah and Medina to make it easier for Nigerians to travel to the holy land for pilgrimage.
The Israeli government confirmed the news, stating that the inaugural flight to Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, would take place on April 20, 2023.
Brigadier General Miri Regev, Israel’s Minister of Transportation and Road Safety, who announced the news in Israel, said it would be a historic first, as there had never been a direct flight between the Middle East and Europe.
“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 today (Sunday). Minister Regev today 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,” disclosed an Israeli embassy source.
According to Brigadier General Regev, Israel has begun to open new routes to connect the world, and Nigeria is one of the leading African countries with close ties to 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 the 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.
Speaking, the Chairman and CEO of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, said that the airline is prepared for the inaugural and subsequent flights to the Holy Land, disclosing that it would begin with two flights a week and increase the frequency with time.
Onyema commended the governments of Nigeria and Israel, saying that they made it possible, breaking old barriers to make direct flight between the two countries a reality, adding that it is an indication of the strong relationship between the two countries.
He also disclosed that the airline has completed plans to begin three times a week flight service to Jeddah and Medina to make it easy for Nigerians who wish to travel for pilgrimage, adding that it is in fulfillment of the promise the airline made to Nigerians of connecting them to domestic destinations and the world.
