Etihad Airways and Air Peace have signed an interline agreement connecting the two carriers’ networks, giving Etihad guests single ticket access to twenty destinations across Nigeria, West Africa and Central Africa. The deal was announced on 23 July 2026.
Under the agreement, Etihad passengers will be able to travel beyond Lagos and Accra onto Air Peace’s network, reaching Nigerian cities including Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano, Enugu, Benin City, Owerri, Warri and Asaba, along with regional points such as Abidjan, Dakar, Banjul, Freetown, Monrovia, Conakry, Bamako, Douala and Libreville. Air Peace is Nigeria’s largest airline by network size.
The interline sits on top of Etihad’s broader African push. The carrier confirmed a daily Abu Dhabi to Lagos service as part of an expansion announced in April, and once that route launches, guests will be able to route through Abu Dhabi and continue onward across Air Peace’s West and Central African network on a single itinerary.
Arik De, Etihad’s Chief Commercial and Revenue Officer, framed the deal as part of a long term African strategy, tying it to Nigeria’s economic weight and to a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement signed between the two countries in January 2026. Nowel Ngala, Air Peace’s Chief Commercial Officer, described the partnership as an extension of Air Peace’s own ambition to connect Nigerian and West African travellers outward, this time toward Abu Dhabi and Etihad’s global network.
Combined itineraries will be bookable at etihad.com once the agreement takes effect. No date for that has been disclosed.
Air Peace gains access to Etihad’s global network without committing aircraft to long-haul Gulf operations. Etihad, meanwhile, extends its footprint to twenty additional destinations across Nigeria, West Africa and Central Africa without launching domestic or regional services of its own. That remains one of the enduring strengths of the interline model: it expands network reach with relatively little operational or financial risk compared with launching new routes or negotiating deeper partnerships.
The agreement also reinforces Lagos’ growing role as a gateway for connecting traffic across West Africa. Turkish Airlines has pursued a similar strategy through regional partnerships, and other Gulf carriers continue looking for efficient ways to deepen their presence on the continent. If the partnership delivers meaningful traffic, it may provide a blueprint for how Gulf airlines expand across fragmented African markets where local carriers already possess the domestic networks they need.
