Ngala
In a keynote address at the SAPTCO NCCA forum on Tuesday, Noel Ngala, Chief Commercial Officer of Air Peace Limited, urged Nigerian authorities to create a seamless transit hub at Lagos and Abuja airports, arguing that such a facility would unlock the full potential of the country’s most trafficked international route.
Speaking on behalf of Air Peace chairman who was unable to attend, Ngala said, “I am Nowel Ngala, the Chief Commercial Officer of Air Peace Limited, representing the chairman who is currently committed to other missions, and I just received, just a few hours this morning to be here to represent Air Peace.”
Ngala conveyed the chairman’s “sincere salutations and apology for not being able to be present due to other commitments as indicated.”
The UK‑Nigeria corridor, which carries more than 450,000 passengers annually, is “the first and highest traffic corridor amongst all other markets in Nigeria,” Ngala told the audience.
He noted that while legacy carriers such as British Airways have served the route for over 90 years, and Virgin Atlantic later added direct flights, “today, we have three carriers offering direct services between Lagos and Nigeria, and Gatwick and Heathrow airports, while other international carriers continue to serve the route via their respective hubs, transporting 29 % of the business and traffic out of Nigeria via their hubs into London.”
Air Peace began its own direct service from Lagos to Gatwick in March 2024. “It is now exactly one year, eight months, since Air Peace successfully started direct flights from Lagos to Gatwick,” Ngala said, adding that the airline has since expanded with “additional flights from Abuja to Heathrow this year, last October 2025.”
The carrier now operates daily Lagos‑Gatwick flights, three weekly Abuja‑Heathrow services on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and three weekly Abuja‑Gatwick flights on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Ngala praised the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, the Minister of Aviation and the government for their “relentless support and continuous push to ensure the full presence of a Nigerian carrier on this route, despite all challenges.”
He also thanked the traveling public: “We equally thank the Nigerian travel public for their patronage and patience with us as they continue to make their travel decisions by choosing Air Peace to travel to London.”
Looking ahead, Ngala highlighted the need for a “full hub for transit passengers to have seamless transit at Lagos and Abuja airports without passengers having to arrive, collect their luggage, and recheck to continue their journeys.”
He explained that such a hub would enable Air Peace and other Nigerian carriers “to further develop its safe freedom strategy to pull more traffic from the regions surrounding into Nigeria and then to London, instead of allowing this traffic to go to other foreign carriers serving Nigeria.”
In closing, Ngala reiterated Air Peace’s commitment to the sector: “We thank you for this opportunity and assure you that Air Peace will always be and have served and to provide all the required support to grow the Nigerian aviation industry.”
The call for a dedicated transit hub comes as Nigeria seeks to retain more of the lucrative passenger flow that currently routes through foreign hubs such as Doha, Istanbul, Paris and Addis Ababa before reaching London.
If realized, analysts say the hub could significantly boost the national airline’s market share and stimulate broader growth in the country’s aviation ecosystem.
