Two airlines, United Nigeria and Air Peace, may have lost over N2bn following Tuesday’s disruption of flight operations by a coalition of aviation workers’ unions, with nearly 100 flights cancelled or disrupted and thousands of passengers left stranded at airports.
The unions, which are 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 picketing the airline in the early hours of Tuesday.
The industrial action, which was targeted principally at Air Peace over claims by the unions that the airline was the largest shareholder of the TSC debt, grounded the airline’s operations at the Lagos and Abuja airports, throwing travel plans into disarray and leaving passengers scrambling for alternatives.
Recall that the unions had earlier issued three stages of warning, threatening to picket airlines that had refused to pay the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge.
The unions also alleged that some domestic airlines had made it difficult for employees to freely join trade unions. They added that workers were afraid to even express interest in union membership for fear of discrimination or victimisation.
They, however, described Tuesday’s action as a measure of restraint, saying they had given the affected airlines several weeks to resolve their grievances. The dispute also centres on the alleged non-remittance of a five per cent ticket sales charge meant to fund aviation agencies.
The unions and the Airline Operators of Nigeria have been at loggerheads over the issue, with labour accusing airlines of withholding funds already collected from passengers. The unions said the alleged non-remittance had stalled the implementation of collective bargaining agreements negotiated for workers in aviation agencies.
Findings by The Newsmen showed that about 70 Air Peace flights were affected, while more than 30 United Nigeria Airlines flights were also disrupted after the carrier suspended operations in solidarity with Air Peace.
A senior official of United Nigeria Airlines, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the lack of authorisation to speak on the matter, said the affected aircraft included Boeing jets, CRJs, Embraer 190s and Embraer 145s.
According to the official, two Boeing aircraft, each configured to carry 175 passengers, were scheduled to operate four sectors each. Two CRJs, with a capacity of about 90 passengers each, were similarly scheduled to operate four sectors.
Also affected were two Embraer 190s, each configured for about 110 passengers, and two Embraer 145s, with seating capacity of about 50 passengers each. They were all expected to operate multiple sectors during the day.
By this estimation, United Nigeria Airlines alone would have transported about 1,200 passengers had the disruption not occurred. The airline’s decision to suspend operations was, however, described as an act of solidarity with Air Peace, which the unions accused of owing the largest share of the statutory TSC remittance obligations.
But Air Peace rejected the allegations and described the disruption as unlawful, violent and disproportionate. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, the airline’s Chief Operating Officer, Mrs Oluwatoyin Olajide, said the action inflicted financial losses of more than N2bn on Air Peace, apart from the hardship suffered by passengers and employees.
With Air Peace putting its losses at over N2bn and United Nigeria Airlines suffering disruption to more than 30 flights, the combined financial impact of the industrial action is estimated at about N3bn.