Jimisayo Opanuga
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has brokered peace between the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and Turkish Airlines, allowing the airline to airlift its Nigerian passengers stranded at the International wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos. This follows the picketing of the airline by the aviation union on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has vowed to continue picketing the airline until their demands are met.
A statement signed by the Vice Chairman of Lagos State Council, Olabisi Idowu, said that following interventions by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Nigerian Police Force, and the Directorate of State Security, Airports Command, the Congress has decided to allow the passengers stranded at the Lagos and Istanbul airports, who were booked on the flights for 21/05/2024, to be airlifted by Turkish Airlines.
The decision is purely on humanitarian grounds, as the picketing exercise, other than as allowed above, shall remain firmly in place until all the demands of the NLC are fully met.
NCAA’s Director of Consumer Protection and Publicity, Michael Achimugu, promised to meet with the union on Thursday to resolve the impasse after meeting with the Country Manager of Turkish Airlines in Nigeria on Wednesday evening. The meeting included representatives of NUATE led by its General Secretary, Comrade Ochema Aba, and the Lagos Regional Manager of NCAA, Mrs. Bukola Teriba, among others.
NUATE disrupted flight operations by the airline on Tuesday following the dismissal of seven staff members for engaging in unionism.
The airline, in a statement by its Media Relations Department, accused its sacked seven Nigerian staff of engaging in various ticket racketeering, causing it serious financial losses within the period.
Despite NUATE’s involvement in the disciplinary committee, which indicted the seven workers, the union refused to sign off on disciplinary action against them. The airline gave the employees the option to resign voluntarily, of which three complied, while four declined. NUATE threatened to paralyze its operations if the former employees were not reinstated.
Turkish Airlines reiterated its commitment to passengers and employees’ interests, insisting on no tolerance for illegal actions. However, it was not able to airlift any booked passengers on Tuesday and returned to Istanbul empty-handed.
