The UK aviation authorities have shown readiness to discuss the allocation of slots at London Heathrow Airport for Nigerian airline Air Peace, following concerns raised by Nigeria over the airline’s inability to secure its preferred landing space. According to TheCable, the UK Secretary of State for Transport, Louise Haigh, responded to a letter from Festus Keyamo, Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, indicating the UK’s willingness to engage in further discussions at the International Civil Aviation Negotiations (ICAN) event in October 2024.
In her letter, Haigh emphasized the importance of the strong social, economic, and political ties between the two nations, highlighting the critical role of air services in sustaining these relationships. “We consider the social, economic, and political links between our two countries to be vital. They rely on a vibrant air services market, which I hope we can continue to protect by working together. International connectivity is critical for the continued prosperity of our citizens and businesses, and I therefore very much appreciate your representations on behalf of Nigerian carriers,” Haigh wrote.
This development follows Nigeria’s warning to potentially deny British Airways and Virgin Atlantic slots at Lagos and Abuja airports if Air Peace is not granted a slot at Heathrow. On August 1, 2024, Keyamo had expressed the Nigerian government’s displeasure in a letter, citing the “consistent denial” of slots for Air Peace to fly into Heathrow, which was the airline’s first choice when it began operations in the UK in March 2024.
In a letter dated September 5, 2024, also seen by TheCable, Haigh explained that Air Peace could not secure slots at Heathrow because the airline’s requests were submitted after the slot coordination process for both the Summer 2024 and Winter 2024/2025 seasons had concluded. “ACL [Airport Coordination Limited] report that Air Peace sent late requests for slots for the Summer 2024 season and the Winter 2024/2025 season; their requests were received after the slot coordination process had concluded for each season,” Haigh clarified.
She added that Heathrow Airport faces significant capacity constraints, making it difficult to accommodate all airlines seeking to secure landing and take-off times. For instance, in the Summer 2024 season, 319,721 slots were requested by various airlines, while only 290,580 slots were available, leaving over 29,000 slot requests unfulfilled and placed on a waiting list.
“As you may be aware, Heathrow Airport is constrained by runway capacity and an Air Traffic Movement limit, which places downward pressure on the number of slots available in any operating season,” Haigh noted. This capacity issue affects both new entrants like Air Peace and established airlines competing for a limited number of available slots.
Air Peace, which was initially denied access to Heathrow, has been operating direct flights from Lagos to London Gatwick since March 30, 2024.
In the letter, Haigh outlined the options available to Air Peace for securing slots at Heathrow Airport. These include joining a waitlist for slots, acquiring slots through commercial arrangements with other carriers, or continuing to operate from another airport, such as Gatwick. “ACL advise that carriers have three options in this scenario: join the waitlist; choose to operate to another airport, as Air Peace have done; or acquire slots through slot trading and commercial arrangements with other carriers,” Haigh stated.
She encouraged Air Peace to maintain communication with ACL regarding the acquisition of both ad-hoc and historic slots at Heathrow and other coordinated airports in the UK. However, Haigh reiterated that the capacity constraints at Heathrow affect all new entrant carriers seeking to establish a foothold at the highly sought-after airport.
