By Mercy Odeh (Content Editor)

Air Peace has disputed the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority’s (NCAA) August 2026 flight disruption report, saying only 15 per cent of the delays recorded by the airline during the month were caused by internal operational factors.

The airline, in a statement signed by its Chief Operating Officer, Mrs Oluwatoyin Olajide, said the majority of its disruptions were caused by external factors, including airport congestion, bird strikes, adverse weather, airport infrastructure challenges and industrial action.

Air Peace also alleged that the NCAA report understated its operational volume for August, saying it operated 2,564 flights during the month, rather than the 1,864 flights contained in the regulatory agency’s report.

According to the airline, the omission of more than 700 flights from the NCAA data pool affected the accuracy of the reported delay percentages.

Air Peace said an internal review of its August operational data showed that 391 flights were affected by internal factors, representing about 15 per cent of the disruptions recorded during the month.

It attributed the internal delays largely to technical issues requiring unscheduled maintenance and fuel-related challenges.

The airline, however, said airport congestion and traffic accounted for more than 51 per cent of its external delays, with aircraft frequently held on the ground or placed in holding patterns because of capacity constraints.

It also cited bird strikes as a significant operational challenge, noting that one of its aircraft, 5N-BYG, was struck by a bird in Abuja.

According to the airline, the incident damaged the aircraft’s inlet cowl and required its removal from service for more than a week for repairs, with the replacement cost put at 1.8 million dollars.

Air Peace said the aircraft normally operated at least eight sectors daily and carried about 1,000 passengers, adding that its removal from service consequently affected its flight schedule.

The airline also identified airport facility deficiencies, adverse weather conditions and diversions as other external factors that contributed to delays during the month.

It said a single flight diversion could result in several hours of consequential delays as aircraft and passengers were repositioned, stressing that such disruptions could not be attributed to the airline.

Air Peace further cited the industrial action by aviation unions on Aug. 11, which it said disrupted its operations for more than 14 days through rescheduling, cancellations and consequential delays.

It also alleged that damage to one of its aircraft by a ground handling company resulted in the aircraft being withdrawn from service for more than 14 days.

The airline questioned the timing and methodology of the NCAA report, particularly the publication of detailed August data without what it described as equivalent monthly data for July.

It urged the aviation regulator to review and audit its data collection methodology to ensure that future reports accurately reflected both airlines’ operational volumes and the causes of flight delays.

“An airline cannot safely or logistically bypass severe airport congestion/traffic, inadequate airport infrastructure, sunset restrictions or adverse weather conditions,” Olajide said.

She added that Air Peace remained committed to improving its internal processes and mitigating operational factors within its control.

The airline also said it had continued to invest in fleet, crew availability, training and maintenance as part of efforts to improve safety, on-time performance and passenger satisfaction.