More than 70 domestic and regional Air Peace flights were disrupted on Tuesday after aviation unions picketed the airline’s operations at airports in Lagos and Abuja, leaving passengers stranded and triggering wider disruption in the aviation sector.
The National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) commenced the action early Tuesday at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The action forced Air Peace to cancel more than 70 scheduled flights across its domestic and regional network, according to the airline.
United Nigeria Airlines subsequently suspended its own flight operations in protest against the disruption of Air Peace flights, directing its workers to halt operations.
The unions said part of their grievance concerned outstanding five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) obligations owed to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) by airlines.
The NCAA had, however, reached payment arrangements with the airlines for settlement of the outstanding obligations, which operators said accumulated during the US-Iran conflict when the price of aviation fuel rose sharply from about ₦900 to ₦3,500 per litre.
The unions also cited Air Peace’s refusal to allow its employees to join the unions as another reason for the picketing.
Air Peace workers had separately dissociated themselves from the industrial action, maintaining that membership of a trade union was voluntary and that they did not wish to participate in the unions’ activities.
The airline alleged that some of its employees were assaulted and injured during Tuesday’s picketing after resisting attempts to compel them to join the unions.
The action was concentrated on Air Peace despite workers of several other domestic carriers also not belonging to the unions, raising questions over why the airline’s operations were specifically targeted.
Confirming the operational disruption, Air Peace said access to its departure terminals in Lagos and Abuja had been blocked.
“We wish to inform our esteemed passengers and the general flying public of temporary disruptions to our flight operations arising from the picketing of our airline and the ongoing industrial action by members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), and the Trade Union Congress (TUC),” the airline said.
It added that entrances to departure facilities at Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 1, including the Alpha and Zulu terminals, as well as Terminal 2, had been barricaded. Access to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport terminal in Abuja was also affected.
According to Air Peace, the blockade prevented scheduled flights from departing Lagos and Abuja, with the resulting disruption spreading across its network and affecting passengers travelling to several destinations.
“Air Peace sincerely apologises to all affected and stranded passengers for the disruption and inconvenience caused by circumstances beyond the airline’s control. Passengers scheduled to travel later today are being contacted and provided with relevant updates as the situation evolves,” the airline said.
The Director-General of the NCAA, Captain Chris Najomo, acknowledged the industrial action and its impact on passengers and other aviation stakeholders, appealing to the unions to exercise restraint.
“The NCAA appeals to the unions to sheathe their swords and exercise restraint pending the return of the Honourable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, who has been actively working towards resolving the issues,” Najomo said.
He disclosed that the dispute was expected to have been discussed at a meeting convened by Keyamo the previous week, but said airline operators failed to attend.
The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), however, maintained that the dispute over the outstanding TSC was between operators and the NCAA, saying airlines had reached an agreement with the regulator on a payment schedule and had been complying with it.
The operators argued that aviation unions had no role in enforcing the payment arrangement reached between the airlines and the NCAA.
Tuesday’s confrontation escalated after Air Peace workers resisted the unions’ activities, with the airline alleging that some employees were beaten and injured.
Some union members, however, acknowledged that workers could not be compelled to become members of a trade union.
The development added a labour dimension to the dispute, particularly over workers’ freedom of association, even as the immediate fallout was felt by passengers whose flights were cancelled or disrupted in Lagos, Abuja and across connecting destinations.
With more than 70 Air Peace flights affected and United Nigeria Airlines suspending its operations in solidarity, the picketing produced significant disruption to domestic and regional air travel as efforts continued to resolve the dispute.
Chinedu Eze
