Air Peace accuses SmartLynx of abrupt withdrawal of wet-leased aircraft
November 17, 2025
Nigerian carrier Air Peace has alleged that ACMI provider SmartLynx Airlines abruptly withdrew a number of wet-leased aircraft from its operation amid the lessor’s restructuring, triggering widespread schedule disruption and prompting the airline to claim significant financial losses.
Air Peace accuses Smartlynx of withdrawing aircraft without notice
Air Peace said the aircraft – understood to be four A320-200s – were removed without notification, despite being rostered for service across its domestic network.
The carrier claims the unexpected withdrawal led to a series of delays and cancellations and has resulted in losses exceeding $15 million.
The affected aircraft include ES-SAY, which remains parked in Lagos, while 9H-EDO, YL-LDM, and 9H-IVO were ferried to storage in Lourdes/Tarbes. The Airbus aircraft, aged 16–20 years and leased through SmartLynx’s Estonian, Maltese, and Latvian units, are now sat idle under their respective owners.
Air Peace chief commercial officer, Nowel Ngala, was quoted in Nigerian media, describing the development as a breach of the terms of its agreement with the ACMI provider.
He said the company had relied on the additional capacity at a time when a portion of its fleet was overseas, undergoing scheduled maintenance. Several of those aircraft have now returned to Nigeria and are re-entering service, he added.
Air Peace fleet undergoing maintenance
Speaking with reporters, the airline’s Chief Commercial Officer, Nowel Ngala, said the carrier wanted to be “fully transparent” about the root of the issue. He explained that Air Peace had turned to SmartLynx to cover scheduled maintenance on 13 of its own aircraft, ensuring continuity over a busy travel period.
“We leased aircraft from SmartLynx solely to support our passengers during peak travel periods,” he said. “It was the best way to avoid service gaps while a significant portion of our fleet was abroad for maintenance.”
However, Ngala added that four of the leased aircraft were withdrawn “abruptly and without prior notice”, describing the move as a clear breach of aviation norms and of the agreement between the two companies. The sudden loss of capacity, he said, triggered the knock-on delays and cancellations experienced across the network.
Ngala emphasised that Air Peace would continue efforts to get the affected travellers where they needed to be, and to restore normal operations “as quickly as possible”.
He noted that the airline’s London service, operated with its own widebody fleet, remains unaffected.
Long-established ACMI partnership
SmartLynx Airlines’ Latvian operating certificate holder has entered court-monitored restructuring as of October, following its acquisition by the carrier’s management team and the Dutch investment fund Stichting Break Point Distressed Assets Management.
At the same time, former parent company Avia Solutions Group (ASG) confirmed to Ch-aviation that it also divested its Maltese and Estonian SmartLynx units.
“We won’t be disclosing details of the transaction, except to emphasise that the sale fully complied with Latvian and EU regulations. All decisions made since then are solely the responsibility of the new owners,” an ASG spokesperson told the website.
Air Peace and SmartLynx Airlines operated under lease arrangements since 2021. The deal signed that year saw SmartLynx Airlines damp-lease two Airbus A320s.
SmartLynx Airlines VP of Sales and Development, Edvinas Demenius, said at the time: “The introduction of the Nigerian airline, Air Peace, the biggest airline in Western Africa, comes as an integral part of [our] focus on client growth and the company’s expansion into dynamic new markets.”
Air Peace has suggested it will seek reimbursement for payments already made under the contract and is assessing its options. One of the aircraft involved remains on the ground in Nigeria pending clarification of its status, the airline said.
Neither SmartLynx nor the aircraft owners have publicly commented.
Aerospace Global News has contacted SmartLynx for comment.
Featured image: Embraer
