Why British Airways, Virgin Atlantic Should Be Suspended – Falana

Femi Falana (SAN), a prominent human rights lawyer, has called for the suspension of British Airways and Virgin Atlantic from operating in Nigeria due to a breach of the nation’s Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA).

Falana made this demand during the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) conference in Abuja, stating that the suspension should remain in place until Nigerian indigenous airline, Air Peace, is permitted to operate the Lagos-London route.

Read Also Surprise As Rufai Oseni Reveals Position On Military Government

According to him, BASA allows for reciprocity in flight operations, and it is unfair for foreign airlines to fly into Nigeria without any Nigerian airline operating in return.

Falana emphasized that Air Peace has the capacity to operate international routes and should be allowed to do so, as it currently operates flights to several other international destinations.

He suggested that if Air Peace is not granted access to the London route, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic should be prevented from flying to Nigeria.

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic currently have multiple weekly flights to Nigeria, while Air Peace has applied to operate the Lagos-London route but has not yet received approval from the UK Civil Aviation Authority.