-We suspended picketing for review of action – Unions
-United Nigeria cancels 32 flights
-FG should investigate unions’ action – Aero CEO

Nigeria’s aviation industry may have lost an estimated N2 billion in revenue on Tuesday following the disruption of flight operations by aviation unions over the alleged non-remittance of the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) and the right of workers to unionise.

The picketing, which was suspended around 2p.m yesterday, led to stranding of passengers and massive disruption of flights, especially at Lagos and Abuja airport.

Virtually all the domestic airlines, including Air Peace, United Nigeria Airlines, Ibom Air, Enugu Air and Aero Contractors were affected by the disruptions.

Though, none of the airlines was willing to be specific on the total financial loss due to the action of the unions, but industry estimates indicated that Nigerian airlines collectively, generate between N1.8 billion and N2. billion daily from passenger ticket sales and cargo operations.

This figure excludes revenues generated by aviation agencies, airport operators, ground handling companies, catering firms, travel agencies, hotels, car-hire companies and other businesses that depend on regular air traffic.

With Air Peace accounting for an estimated 40 per cent of the daily airline revenue, the disruption of its operations alone showed a huge economic loss for the sector.

Air Peace alone, operates more than 100 flights daily across its domestic, regional and international network and airlifts an estimated 8,000 passengers.

The latest confrontation was triggered by demands by the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), among others, over alleged non-remittance of five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC), amounting to about N20 billion and purported restrictions on workers’ unionisation.

The unions claimed that Air Peace alone was indebted to aviation agencies to the tune of about N15 billion in TSC, while also accusing the airline of frustrating its workers from joining trade unions.

The unions subsequently picketed the airline and other carriers’ operations, with the blockade of entrances to its terminals in Lagos and Abuja, thereby disrupting the movement of passengers and the departure of scheduled flights.

In a statement, its spokesman, Efe Osifo-Whiskey, said the entrances to its Alpha and Zulu terminals at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 1, as well as its operations at Terminal 2 and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, were blocked.

According to him, the blockade prevented scheduled flights from departing and significantly affected passengers travelling across the airline’s network.

He said: “The blockade has restricted access to these terminals, preventing the departure of scheduled flights from Lagos and Abuja. Consequently, passengers scheduled to travel across our network have been significantly affected by the disruption to flight operations.

“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.”

Also speaking with The Guardian, the General Secretary of ATSSSAN, Frances Akinjole, said the unions took the action following the refusal of the management of Air Peace to enter into a discussion with them on how to remit the alleged debt and unionism in the airline.

According to him, the latest action followed an unsuccessful attempt by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, to broker a meeting between the unions and airline operators Friday, last week.

According to him, the unions attended the meeting convened by the minister, but Air Peace subsequently communicated that it would not sit down with the unions.

He said: “The airline has been discouraging other airlines from industrial democracy.

“The airline just committed an act of terrorism. It blocked the runway and parked its vehicles on the runway, which will prevent aircraft from taking off or landing on the runway.

“Our picketing Air Peace is strategic. We have to start with the airline because it’s the major carrier in the country.

“Presently, we are only picketing their Lagos operations alone. We all know that most airlines depart or land in Lagos. So, it’s strategic. I don’t know how many days it will take us to picket the airlines. We will continue with this strategy for now.”

Akinjole also confirmed that the unions had suspended the picketing action.

According to him, the unions suspended the action in order to review its action.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Aero Contractors, Ado Sanusi, called on the Federal government to investigate the action of the labour unions.

Speaking with The Guardian, Sanusi regretted that the action negatively impacted Aero Contractors out of Abuja.

He, however, said that its operations out of Lagos was mildly affected because the action of the unions was concentrated on the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) of Lagos airport.

He, could not also immediately give a figure to the amount of money lost by the airline for the about 10 hours disruption, but confirmed that it led to flight delays across its routes.

“For the monetary aspect, we can’t say. It is after an assessment has been done that this is the monetary aspect of the cost. We have to do a study and see the cost of the impact of the strike.

“This shows that the aviation sector has a bigger problem than we think. If the unions are taking it upon themselves to picket the airlines because they are not paying five per cent, then it has a problem because the parastatals have means of collecting the five per cent.

“Nigeria is a country of law and we are law abiding citizens. I think the Federal Government should investigate this because people are taking laws into their hands.”

Besides, United Nigeria Airlines (UNA), said it cancelled 32 of its flights on Tuesday due to the picketing.

The Public Relations officer (PRO), UNA, Chibuike Uloka, said that UNA operates eight serviceable aircraft and all were fully booked prior to the picketing.

According to him, the two Boeing 737 has 175 seat capacity and was scheduled to operate 8 flights, CRJ 190 with 100-seater, was also scheduled for eight flights across its network.

The airlines two CRJ has 80 and 90-seater capacity and was scheduled to operate four flights each. The ERJ, which has 50 seat capacity was scheduled to operate eight flights also.

With this, UNA may have lost about N500 million to the disruption by the unions.

However, this is not the first time labour unions had disrupted operations at Nigerian airports.

Since the commencement of operations at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Two (MMA2), unions have picketed Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), operators of the terminal, at least twice in the last eight years.

The first picketing was on October 9, 2018, when aviation unions including ATSSSAN, NUATE and the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) blocked access to MMA2 over an industrial dispute involving the terminal operator and its workers.

The action affected airlines operating from the terminal and left passengers stranded.

The terminal accommodates several airlines as well as banks, restaurants, telecommunications outlets and other businesses.

Also, on November 1, 2022, the terminal operator was picketing for allegedly denying its staff from joining any union of their choice.

Apart from private operators, aviation unions also regularly embark on industrial actions and protests against aviation agencies, including the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and NCAA.

Meanwhile, the NCAA appealed to the unions to suspend the industrial action and return to dialogue.

The Director-General of Civil Aviation, Chris Najomo, said the authority was concerned about the impact of the action on passengers and other stakeholders.

He urged the unions to “sheathe their swords and exercise restraint” while efforts continued to resolve the issues.

According to the NCAA, a meeting convened by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development the previous week could have provided an avenue for resolving the dispute, but the meeting could not hold because some airline operators failed to honour the invitation.

Najomo assured the travelling public that the industrial dispute had not compromised flight safety, stressing that the NCAA remained committed to its statutory safety oversight responsibilities.

He said: “The NCAA assures the travelling public that flight safety remains uncompromised and that the Authority continues to exercise its statutory safety oversight responsibilities.

“We appeal to all parties to embrace dialogue and cooperation. We are confident that the matter will be resolved shortly and normal flight operations will resume as soon as practicable.”