The United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (UK CAA) is currently engaged in a war of words with Nigerian airline, Air Peace over alleged safety violations by the Nigerian airline.
UKCAA reported local airline operator Air Peace to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) over the airline’s alleged non-compliance with some safety regulations in the UK.
According to a spokesman for the NCAA, Michael Achimugu,he disclosed that the regulator received some complaints from its British counterpart over Air Peace operations at the Gatwick Airport in London.
Achimugu said the safety concerns were raised during a ramp inspection by UK CAA.
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It was learnt that two mandatory occurrence reports on Air Peace were sent to the UK CAA which subsequently forwarded the complaints to its Nigerian counterpart.
The NCAA spokesman noted that the authority has written Air Peace to clarify the issues raised about its operations at Gatwick.
Achimugu stressed that the complaints raised by the UK CAA fell under less serious categories of violations and not the Level 1 category which is for serious safety non-compliance.
“The complaints do not mean that the airline can no longer operate at the Gatwick airport. The NCAA has communicated the complaints to the airline. Investigation is ongoing,” he said.
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When contacted, Air Peace Spokesman Stanley Olisa in an official statement confirmed the complaint.
“We can confirm that the UK Civil Aviation Authority wrote to Air Peace, after their statutory Ramp Inspection on April 7, 2024, to request clarification on our use of the Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) and some other concerns,” the statement partly read. “We provided the necessary information, and the matter was resolved without any issues.”
“It is, therefore, wrong to say we do not have approval for our EFB. Air Peace received approval from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), and all our Boeing 777 aircraft are certified to operate with EFBs.”
The airline further said, “Regarding the claim that our B777 aircraft lack iPad mounts and charging ports in the flight deck, this is incorrect. All B777 aircraft are equipped with charging ports in the cockpit, and we ensure that all our B777 aircraft have iPad mounts.
“Another issue raised by the UK CAA was the location of our cockpit library on the B777. The B777 designates two locations for storing manuals and books: one behind the captain and one under the jumpseat. During the inspection, the books were stored under the jumpseat, as it is commonly practised. We understand the inspector’s preference for the books to be placed behind the captain and have ensured this preference is accommodated for all operations going forward.
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“There was also a concern about the captain’s choice of runway exit after landing. Instead of exiting at the middle runway exit, the captain, out of his professional discretion, opted to exit at the end of the runway. This may have delayed the arrival of another aircraft. We acknowledge this deviation and have addressed the matter with the captain to ensure adherence to preferred exit procedures in the future.”
Air Peace assured passengers of its commitment to safety and full compliance.
