Monthly flights to Africa on cards

Barbadians seeking to connect with their African roots will soon have a more convenient travel option, as Nigerian airline Air Peace is seeking to launch monthly direct flights from Barbados to West Africa starting in February 2026.

The announcement comes following a successful inaugural flight last Sunday, which brought approximately 300 passengers from Lagos to the Caribbean, with about 200 continuing to Barbados after a stop in Antigua and Barbuda.

Gideon Asare, chief executive officer of Adansi Travels, who was among the passengers on the historic flight, was in Barbados promoting the new route. He runs a travel agency focused on helping people of African descent reconnect with their heritage, particularly in Ghana.

“This opportunity offers more Barbadians the chance to go see their homeland,” he said. 

“Instead of going through the US or the UK, which is longer, you could fly from Barbados directly to Lagos and then continue to Accra.”

The new route represents a significant investment by Air Peace, which operates flights within West Africa and to select international destinations, including London. The airline has also purchased LIAT Air in Antigua to facilitate Caribbean connections.

For Asare, the flight service is about more than convenience. It’s about completing a historical narrative that begins in Ghanaian schools, where children learn about the transatlantic slave trade from an early age.

“You are taught about slavery because of the castles, but you don’t know where the story continues,” he explained.

“When they leave the shores of Ghana, where do they go? That is where you continue the story, when you get to Barbados.”

During a trip to Barbados last year, Asare visited historical sites where enslaved Africans arrived, noting the presence of many Ghanaian names among those documented.

His agency hosted about ten Barbadians in Ghana last year, offering them experiences he described as deeply spiritual.

Asare said visitors to Ghana can experience landmarks such as the Slave River, where enslaved Africans were washed before departure, and the Door of No Return, the final passage before being forced onto ships. 

He added, however, that Ghana offered much more than historical connections.

“When you come to Ghana, from your day of arrival, you feel a connection with people,” he said, contrasting it with trips to major Western cities where tourists might see impressive sights but make fewer personal connections.

“There are stereotypes of how some mainstream media may have projected Africa. It’s not the case. If you come to Accra, you will see it’s very modern.” 

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