Air Peace has decried the loss of $15m in damages over Lessor, SmartLynx fraudulent withdrawal of four of its wet-leased aircraft.
The airline stated that over $5 million of its money — including over $1 million paid as security deposits for the aircraft — is with the lessor, who is attempting to leave Nigeria.
Speaking during a press conference at the airline’s headquarters in Lagos on Friday, November 14, the Chief Commercial Officer of Air Peace, CCO, Nowel Ngala, said the situation has caused over $15 million in damages to Air Peace.
Ngala stated further that the abrupt and unjustified withdrawal of four (4) aircraft it wet-leased from SmartLynx Airlines
caused disruptions resulting in flight delays and cancellations in the airline schedule.
According to Ngala, this withdrawal was done without prior notice, a clear violation of industry standards and the agreement between both parties.
What makes this even more concerning is that SmartLynx had collected money upfront from Air Peace, fully aware that the rightful owners of those aircraft would be withdrawing them because SmartLynx had been in default of payments to the said owners.
Air Peace Chief Commercial Officer explained that the airline entered a wet-lease agreement with SmartLynx because 13 of its aircraft are currently undergoing scheduled maintenance abroad.
He said: “To avoid service gaps and ensure Nigerians could continue to travel conveniently, we leased aircraft from SmartLynx. These efforts were made solely to support our passengers during peak travel periods.
These aircraft had already been rostered for scheduled flights, and their sudden removal created significant gaps in our operations. It is important to note that other airlines that leased aircraft from SmartLynx in other parts of the world were similarly affected, confirming a broad pattern of unprofessional conduct”.
Ngala noted that Air Peace consider this action by SmartLynx to be a serious breach of contract, fraudulent, and a premeditated scheme that has inflicted financial loss and reputational damage not just on Air Peace, but indirectly on the Nigerian travelling public, whom it serve with pride.
He pointed out that despite SmartLynx’s actions, Air Peace has released three of the aircraft in question to their rightful owners in good faith.
Ngala maintained that Air Peace has kept one of the aircraft, while its requesting a refund of their funds.
He disclosed that this is not the first time Air Peace has been placed in a difficult situation by a fraudulent lessor.
He disclosed further that SYPHAX Airlines of Tunisia vanished with over $2 million from Air Peace and never returned—claiming they were taking their aircraft for maintenance.
The aircraft was never returned, and the funds remain unaccounted for till date as the airline went into bankruptcy. These actions, unfortunately, reflect the challenges Nigerian carriers often face in international leasing arrangements. We cannot allow that to happen again, Ngala said.
