Unions ground activities at airports, chase away passengers
Activities were totally paralysed in all Nigerian airports on Monday by the members of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and aviation unions as airlines were stopped from airlifting passengers.
Also, no fewer than a billion naira was lost in revenue generation by the nine schedule indigenous airline operators, while the ground handling companies and catering organisations also suffered huge losses.
At the Lagos and Abuja airports, some of the checked-in passengers were chased away by members of the organised labour and some staff of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). At the Murtala Muhammed Airport Two (MMA2), Lagos, members of TUC invaded the terminal, stopped the airlines from checking in booked passengers, but were rebuffed from tampering with airline counters by the Aviation Security (AVSEC) personnel of Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL).
At the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, Air Peace and some other domestic airlines were abruptly stopped from boarding passengers as the announcements were ongoing.
The unions and some staff of FAAN locked the boarding gate, thereby making it impossible for passengers to proceed for boarding.
However, our correspondent observed that on Monday, none of the international and regional flights were disrupted by the protesting unions in all the international gateways of Nigeria.
Aviation unions had in a statement on Sunday assured that none of the regional and international flights would be affected on Monday, but vowed that flights on the international routes would be shut from 12a.m on Tuesday.
Also, Mrs. Obiageli Orah, the Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, FAAN, said that the agency would ensure safety and security to humans and equipment at all the nation’s airports.
Speaking on the issue, Capt. Ado Sanusi, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Aero Contractors, regretted the situation, but said its first flight out of Lagos to Abuja departed as arranged.
Sanusi also expressed pity with the plight of an average Nigerian worker, but said industrial actions were fast becoming unpopular worldwide.
He warned that if the situation was not quickly nipped in the bud, the economy may experience more suffering, while some workers may eventually lose their means of livelihood.
Sanusi also expressed that Aero Contractors lost hundreds of millions in revenue on Monday due to the strike and appealed to both parties to resolve the issue early, stressing that it causes more havoc to the fragile economy.
He said: “Any strike by organised labour costs us a lot of money, fixed costs would continue to run, we have to pay salaries and other running costs of the airlines and we are not making revenue, yet we have to refund the customers that booked earlier.
“All my flights were cancelled except one; Lagos-Abuja today, others were cancelled and tomorrow (Tuesday) flights may be the same. We lost hundreds of millions in revenue. The fact is that you might not calculate the entire losses until everything is done and you will open your books to see what you have lost.
“If you look at it, worldwide industrial actions are losing popularity because it kills the economy and it should be the last resort. I believe negotiations have not been done enough in this case before the unions called out the workers for a strike action.”
Also, Mr. Adebanji Ola, the Spokesman of Arik Air, confirmed that the airline, like any other domestic airline, was unable to operate any flights out of any airport on Monday.
Ola, however, expressed that the airline was willing and ready to airlift its passengers to their various destinations if the unions allowed it, but said the passengers must also be available to be airlifted.
“We were not able to operate any flight yet, but if the unions vacate the gates and there are passengers, we would operate our flights. Provided the passengers are there, but if there are no passengers we can’t operate empty,” he said.
Besides, a source close to Air Peace told our correspondent that the airline did not operate 90 per cent of its daily flights.
The source confided in our correspondent that Air Peace operates about 100 flights daily with 90 per cent of them done locally, while the remaining 10 per cent are regional and international flights.
It was learnt that while its regional and international flights departed as scheduled, none of its domestic flights departed.
Also, Mrs. Obiageli Orah, the Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, FAAN, assured that FAAN would provide all the needed security to prevent breakdown of law and order.
She also confirmed to our correspondent on phone that none of the regional and international flights were disrupted by the striking unions and appealed to them to key into the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
She also explained that the current economic crisis was not limited to Nigeria alone, but globally.
She said: “We have our security people on ground to ensure that security is not compromised. We are hoping that the action would be called off so that we can all return to the table and discuss how we can move forward.
“The President is doing all that he can to ensure he brings succour to the Nigerian people and one thing I know is that if Nigerians can be patient with Mr. President, we would see the result of all those decisions that are being taken because they are in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President. The President doesn’t go back on his words.
“The current crisis is a worldwide issue and there is no country in the world that is immune from the crises, yet they are making efforts to resolve them.”
Ibom Air also explained that it was unable to dispatch any of its scheduled flights to various destinations on Monday. The airline, therefore, suspended all its operations until further notice and regretted the inconvenience caused the passengers.
