BY Victoria Ojeme

The planned evacuation of stranded Nigerians from the United Kingdom suffered a  delay as British authorities deny Nigerian Carrier, Air Peace of landing permit, Ministry of Foreign Affairs disclosed in a statement.

It further explained that the flight was earlier scheduled to depart on 13th July, 2020 from London Heathrow but was later rescheduled to 14th July, 2020 from Gatwick Airport London.

Spokesperson Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ferdinand Nwonye said that the changes became necessary following the unexpected decline by the British Government to grant Diplomatic Landing Clearance to Air Peace airlines.

According to the ministry, “Further to the notification issued by our High Commission in London on the pending evacuation of stranded Nigerians in the United Kingdom, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to make additional clarifications that led to the changes in the departure date and airport of the Air Peace evacuation flights”.

Nigerian Foreign Ministry said the Federal Government appealed to Air Peace to engage the services of an alternative Airline to airlift our stranded citizens instead of refunding their payments, hence the use of Air Partner, one of the Global Air Charter companies advised by the British authorities.

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“It is pertinent to note that, Air Peace gracefully contracted Air Partner to operate these chartered flights on its behalf at a much higher cost than the tickets fares paid by the prospective evacuees.

In the light of the foregoing, the Federal Government wishes to extend its appreciation to the Chairman and Management of Air Peace Limited for their commitments and patriotism in ensuring that our stranded nationals in the United Kingdom return home safely,” the statement reads in part.

Vanguard