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Nigeria's largest carrier, Air Peace, will launch direct international flights from the newly commissioned Gateway International Airport in Iperu, Ogun State, this summer, Onyema announced last week. The routes will connect the airport to both London Gatwick and London Heathrow, marking the first international service from the facility and opening a second international departure point for Nigeria beyond Lagos and Abuja.
Onyema made the announcement after inspecting the airport alongside Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, days after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu officially commissioned the facility on April 4. The aviation minister, Festus Keyamo, has already given approval for the operations to proceed.
"This is one of the best-equipped airports in Sub-Saharan Africa, and Air Peace will not sit back and watch this facility go unused," Onyema said. "When you see a promising initiative, you must embrace it."
The airport's 4-kilometer runway can handle some of the largest commercial aircraft in service, including the Airbus A380. Onyema said Air Peace plans to deploy its Boeing 777 fleet on the London route, a wide-body aircraft that typically seats between 300 and 400 passengers depending on configuration.
The facility sits in the Iperu-Ilishan Remo axis of Ogun State, roughly 70 kilometers from Lagos. Onyema described it as a national asset rather than a state project, a framing that signals Air Peace sees it as a long-term strategic base rather than a short-term trial.
Governor Abiodun outlined plans to build an international conference and convention center alongside a 550-room five-star hotel at the airport, positioning Ogun State as a hub for global business and tourism. Cargo operations have already started with Allied Air. Ethiopian Airlines is expected to follow. A second European cargo carrier is also in discussions to launch services into the state, and Abiodun projected around 50 cargo flights through the airport between April and the end of the year.
Ogun State has also confirmed it is establishing its own regional carrier, Gateway Airlines, which has acquired two Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft.
Air Peace, founded by Onyema in 2013, now operates more than 30 aircraft and serves routes across Nigeria and internationally, including London, Guangzhou and São Paulo.
