Labour strike paralyzes domestic flight operations in Abuja

Activities of the organised Labour paralyzed the operations of domestic flights at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) rendering passengers stranded on Monday.

Nigerian Tribune findings revealed that flights are not allowed to take off or land at the domestic wing of the airport.

According to a statement by the United Nigeria airline, “we regret to inform you that due to the strike action by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), and their affiliates, airports across the country have been shut down.

“As a result, none of our scheduled flights has been permitted to depart the airport, significantly affecting our services and operations.

“We sincerely apologise for any inconveniences this may cause to your travel plans. Please rest assured that we are actively monitoring the situation to evaluate its impact on our operations and will provide updates accordingly” the statement noted.

The General Secretary, National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Ocheme Aba told the media on Monday that international flights between Nigeria and other countries have been given 24 hours to round up all scheduled routes.

He said the time frame is to allow all aircrafts currently heading to various destinations to be received by ground handlers and other related departments for safe landing.

Aba reaffirmed that such grace is not applicable to domestic flights across the country as all local aircrafts have been grounded since 12am June 3rd.

Similarly, another Executive of NUATE who spoke under the condition of anonymity said “no flight has left Abuja and none has landed.

“All passengers are outside the terminal building. Some passengers have started returning home because some airlines have announced cancellation.”

“NUATE works with instruction and if the mother body asks us to open the airport for flight operations, we will open but without instruction from NLC, the strike is indefinite”.

He noted that “it has not been easy to manage the anger from passengers. We feel their pain but as it is now, if nothing is done, nothing will be done”.

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Another airline, Air Peace in a statement on Monday said “we hereby notify the flying public that due to the ongoing strike action by the Nigerian Labour Union (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), there will be disruptions or possible cancellations of flights across our network today.

“Currently, only our regional and international flights are confirmed to operate today.

“We are closely monitoring the situation and hope for a swift resolution. We regret any inconvenience this may cause to your travel plans and appreciate your understanding and patience” the statement noted.

It will be recalled that the organised Labour had handed the Federal government a May 31st deadline over disagreement between the body and the Federal government committee to reach an agreement on the new minimum wage.

Failure to reach an agreement between the parties at the expiration of the deadline has resulted in a nationwide strike, paralyzing operations of key sectors of the economy.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE