Two leading aviation unions have jointly petitioned the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) over the continued threat to the “integrity” of handling rates, otherwise known as the Safety Threshold Ground Handling Charges.
The petition dated August 11, 2025, and written by the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), said the handling rates agreed to by the handling companies were under threat due to some alleged undercutting practices.
The letter, which was jointly signed by the Principal Deputy General Secretary, ATSSSAN, Frances Akinjole and the Deputy General Secretary, NUATE, Odinaka Igbokwe, also copied the Managing Directors of the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) Plc, the Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO), all airlines, branch chairmen and secretaries.
There are five major handling companies in the Nigerian aviation industry – NAHCO, SAHCO, Precision Aviation Handling Company Ltd (PAHCOL), Butake Resources Limited and Swissport Nigeria. NAHCO and SAHCO are the largest, with a presence in various airports across Nigeria.
The two leading handling companies were also the major beneficiaries of the new handling rates, which pegged minimal charges for airlines, depending on the size of the aircraft they operate.
A source close to one of the unions confided in our correspondent earlier in the week that the two major handling companies have accused each other of compromising the agreements reached on the new safety threshold charges.
The ground handling companies had, in 2021, through their association – the Aviation Ground Handling Association of Nigeria (AGHAN) – come up with new handling rates for airlines, after almost 35 years of charging the same rates.
Also, the handling companies in February 2025, reviewed upward their rates for the carriers, depending on the aircraft brand, citing the high inflation rate.
AGHAN had proposed a handling rate of N400,000 from the initial N70,000 for a Boeing 737 aircraft, N250 for CRJ, Embraer from N50,000, while Dash 8 or its equivalent was increased to N150,000 per flight from the former N25,000.
Also, for its single item rates, push back was proposed for N200,000 per service from the initial N22,000; aircraft cooling system (ACU) per hour, N150,000 from N25,000; air start unit (ASU) per hour, raised to N200,000 from N22,000 and ground power unit (GPU) increased from N20,000 to N180,000.
Other services were similarly increased.
But, through the intervention of the NCAA, the proposal was further cut down by 15 per cent across the board for airlines.
However, some aviation experts kicked against the joint safety threshold charges by the handling companies, describing them as anti-competitive.
The unions in the current petition to the NCAA said on hearing of the perceived threat to the existing agreement, which had to an extent, sanitised the ground handling service operations in Nigeria’s airports, they jointly forwarded a letter of concern, dated July 4, 2025 to the NCAA office, calling for the regulatory intervention to safeguard the integrity of the agreement before it caused major crisis.
