Passengers were left stranded in Abuja and Lagos on Tuesday after aviation unions shut down operations of Air Peace over allegations that the airline was frustrating workers’ unionisation and withholding Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) owed to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
The National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), backed by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), commenced picketing that grounded about 70 flights. A NUATE official said the total TSC debt allegedly owed by members of the Airline Operators of Nigeria stood at about N25 billion, with Air Peace accounting for approximately N15 billion. The unions also cited the airline’s alleged denial of workers’ right to organise.
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority confirmed that an Air Peace driver drove a large bus onto the airside during the picketing, parked it and left. The vehicle was later towed by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). NCAA Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, said the driver had been ordered identified and arrested for possible prosecution, describing the act of blocking the runway as uncalled for.
Air Peace rejected the core allegations. Spokesman Efe Whiskey-Osifo said the airline had remitted the five per cent TSC and questioned why it was singled out while other carriers continued to operate. He claimed Air Peace staff had chosen not to join the unions and that a peaceful staff protest against unionisation had been infiltrated. The airline said operations were already being restored by Tuesday evening.
The five per cent Ticket Sales Charge is collected by airlines on every ticket and is meant to be remitted to the NCAA for sharing among aviation agencies. Non-remittance and restrictions on unionisation are long-running points of friction in the sector. The decision to concentrate the picketing on Air Peace’s major hubs maximised disruption. Whether the planned meeting between operators and unions resolves the dual issues of debt and organising rights will determine if further industrial action follows.
