The chairman of Air Peace has expressed concern over the $1.85 million cost of repairing aircraft damaged in a bird strike and is pushing for the creation of an aviation development levy.
The carrier's chairman made the disclosure in remarks reported by BusinessDay on 10 September 2026. The $1.85 million repair bill covers work required to return affected aircraft to service following a bird strike, an operational hazard that regularly confronts Nigerian airlines.
Bird strikes can force unscheduled maintenance, ground aircraft, and disrupt flight schedules. For a private carrier such as Air Peace, repair costs of this scale are absorbed directly by the airline and can place pressure on operating margins.
The chairman's demand for an aviation development levy places a fiscal proposal before regulators and policymakers. Such a levy would be a dedicated charge designed to fund sectoral development, with potential application to safety infrastructure, maintenance capacity, and other industry-wide needs.
The Nigerian aviation sector already operates under a framework of statutory charges and levies, including those applied to passenger tickets and airline operations. Any new development levy would need to be integrated into that framework through legislative or regulatory action.
For Nigeria's aviation and fiscal authorities, the proposal raises practical questions about how a development levy would be structured, who would bear the cost, and how collections would be administered. It would also need to be assessed against existing aviation charges and fees to avoid adding an excessive compliance burden on operators and passengers.
The remarks highlight the cost pressures facing domestic airlines and the industry's call for fiscal instruments that address shared infrastructure and safety challenges. No further details on the proposed levy's rate, collection mechanism, or legislative pathway were provided in the report.
