Air Peace, Nigeria’s national flag carrier, says it will commence direct flights from Lagos to Brazil in November 2025.
The plan comes after the presidency announced that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil approved the launch of direct flights by the domestic carrier from Lagos and São Paulo.
The development had followed the signing of a bilateral air services agreement (BASA) between Nigeria and Brazil during President Bola Tinubu’s state visit to the South American nation.
Addressing journalists, Allen Onyema, chief executive officer (CEO) of Air Peace, described the BASA as a milestone achieved by Tinubu’s administration.
He said the agreement represents a long-awaited aviation connectivity breakthrough.
“The Brazilian economy is the largest in Latin America. The Nigerian economy is the largest in Africa. Both countries are very rich, both in human and natural resources,” Onyema said.
“They need to tap into this. But without aviation, it is very difficult for some of these things to be actualised.”
The CEO said aviation serves as a “catalyst for development,” making the new air link vital for economic growth.
Onyema disclosed that flight operations are scheduled to begin between late November and early December 2025.
He said Air Peace will start with three weekly flights on the Lagos-Rio de Janeiro-São Paulo-Lagos route, with plans to scale up as passenger demand increases.
“We are looking forward to starting about towards (sic) the last week of November into December this year,” he said.
“We cannot start daily flights for now, but we want to start with three weekly flights. But as we go on, we’ll develop the route and increase the frequency.”
