Nigeria’s aviation sector suffered a major disruption on Tuesday as labour unions picketed Air Peace operations at airports in Lagos and Abuja, leading to the cancellation of at least 80 flights and an estimated preliminary loss of about N2bn in airline revenue and related services.
The industrial action, which lasted for about eight hours, also affected other carriers and left passengers stranded as union members blocked access to airline terminals. The unions were protesting alleged unpaid obligations by Air Peace, including about N15bn in Ticket Sales Charges owed to aviation agencies, as well as what they described as the airline’s opposition to workers’ efforts to unionise.
The National Union of Air Transport Employees, Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria and National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers, backed by the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress, began the picketing in the early hours of Tuesday. The unions had previously issued warnings over the alleged non-remittance of the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge.
Air Peace said the action severely disrupted its operations in Lagos and Abuja after access to its Alpha and Zulu terminals at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 1, its Terminal 2 operations and its Abuja operations was blocked. The airline said the disruption affected passengers across its domestic, regional and international network and apologised to travellers for circumstances it described as beyond its control.
The situation escalated after Air Peace workers allegedly used company vehicles to block access to the runway at the Lagos airport. The NCAA Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, said the regulator had ordered the arrest of the driver involved and that appropriate sanctions would follow. The incident has also triggered calls from aviation stakeholders for a formal investigation.
The disruption hit other airlines as well. United Nigeria Airlines said it cancelled 32 flights on Tuesday, with its spokesperson, Chibuike Uloka, estimating that the airline could have lost about N500m. Aero Contractors CEO, Ado Sanusi, also called for a government investigation, arguing that unions should not take enforcement of financial obligations into their own hands.
Union officials defended the action, saying they were forced to picket after Air Peace allegedly declined to engage them on the disputed payments and workers’ right to unionise. ATSSSAN General Secretary, Frances Akinjole, said a meeting facilitated by Aviation and Aerospace Development Minister Festus Keyamo had failed after Air Peace reportedly declined to meet with the unions.
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority has urged the parties to return to dialogue, while Director-General Chris Najomo assured passengers that the dispute had not compromised flight safety. The unions have since suspended the picketing to allow for a review, but the scale of the disruption has renewed concerns about the impact of industrial disputes on Nigeria’s aviation sector.
The latest crisis comes against a wider push by the NCAA to modernise passenger services. The regulator is also working towards introducing Radio Frequency Identification technology to track baggage from check-in through aircraft loading and arrival, a move aimed at reducing cases of lost, delayed, damaged and misrouted luggage. The proposed system is expected to give airlines a clearer digital record of each bag’s movement and make it easier to locate missing luggage.
