South African government has granted Air Peace permit to commence commercial flights to Johannesburg, Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said.

A spokesperson for the ministry, Mr Ferdinand Nwonye, said the proprietor of the airline, Mr Allen Onyema, confirmed that the airline would commence operation as soon as possible to promote air travel between Nigeria and South Africa.

The agreement was made at the 9th Session of the Nigeria/South Africa Bi-National Commission Summit in Pretoria on September 27.

The joint commission was established in 1999 to encourage relations between the two nations.

The Bi-National Commission was upgraded in 2001 to highlight the strategic nature of the partnership.

On 3 October, the Commission will be further upgraded to the Summit stage.

Air Peace earned praise in August when it volunteered to evacuate Nigerians from South Africa after xenophobic violence broke out in the country.

The airline successfully evacuated about 497 Nigerians in multiple flights.

PT