Nigeria’s leading airline, Air Peace, has declared that flight delays and cancellations are driven strictly by safety concerns—not profit or convenience.

In a strongly worded statement issued Friday, the airline responded to criticisms from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), which had warned the carrier to scale its operations to match its available fleet, citing complaints from passengers over frequent flight disruptions.

Reacting, Air Peace stated:

“We do not cancel any flight for the fun of it. It is not our policy to delay or cancel flights without due cause, and when we do, we are often the greater loser financially.”

The airline emphasized that safety remains its top priority.

“At Air Peace, safety is and will always remain our cardinal priority. These delays and cancellations are dictated by safety considerations,” the statement read.

This comes after NCAA Director General, Capt. Chris Najomo, directed the airline to “immediately improve its domestic operations” following public complaints.

But Air Peace insisted it had more aircraft than it deploys daily, countering NCAA’s suggestion.

“Air Peace has more aircraft available than are currently rostered for daily operations. Therefore, any delays or cancellations… have absolutely nothing to do with fleet shortage.”

Acknowledging the inconvenience to passengers, the airline said:

“We fully empathise with our esteemed passengers… However, we do not regret taking operational decisions rooted in the protection of human lives.”

The airline concluded with a firm stance:

“We will never sacrifice safety for convenience, comfort, speed, or profit.”