Air Peace operated a series of repatriation flights through mid-2020 to bring home Nigerians stranded abroad after COVID-19 border closures grounded commercial international travel, with flights arriving from London, Johannesburg, New York and Houston among other cities, coordinated with the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission and the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Filling a Gap Left by Grounded Airlines
With Nigeria's international airports closed to scheduled passenger service for much of the period, the repatriation flights operated under special permits, carrying returning citizens including students, healthcare workers and stranded travellers, many of whom had been unable to get home for months. Air Peace Chairman Allen Onyema said the airline treated the flights as a national service obligation rather than a commercial venture, given the exceptional circumstances.
The airline coordinated with Nigerian missions abroad to prioritise vulnerable travellers and those who had exhausted visas or accommodation in their host countries, with returning passengers subject to mandatory COVID-19 testing and, in some cases, quarantine on arrival in Lagos or Abuja under Presidential Task Force protocols.