Aviation unions ground flights in Lagos, Abuja
Aviation unions disrupted domestic flights in Lagos and Abuja on Tuesday, protesting anti-union practices and non-remittance of ticket charges.
Aviation unions on Tuesday disrupted domestic flight operations in Lagos and Abuja, leaving passengers stranded at the affected airports. 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), under the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), shut down operations over alleged anti-union practices by domestic airlines and the non-remittance of the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) owed to aviation agencies.
The protest began at about 5am in Lagos, with the Zulu terminal gate at the Murtala Muhammed Airport locked. The action initially affected Air Peace, the country’s largest domestic airline, with passengers scheduled to travel on its flights left stranded. An Air Peace flight scheduled to depart Lagos at 6:30am could not take off as passengers waited amid the disruption. A staff member of Air Peace confirmed the incident.
The unions demanded that affected airlines issue clear directives to their employees affirming their freedom to join unions without fear of victimisation. They also accused domestic airlines of withholding the five per cent TSC already collected from passengers, saying the funds were meant to support the operations of aviation agencies.
For passengers, the disruption is a costly inconvenience. For the unions, it is a last resort. For the airlines, it is a reputational blow. The dispute highlights the fragile relationship between labour and management in Nigeria’s aviation sector.
This echoes the 2019 aviation union strikes, which also disrupted flights and left passengers stranded. The mechanism then was different, but the result was the same: a standoff between workers and employers over rights and revenue.
The winners: none. The losers: stranded passengers, who face travel disruptions; the airlines, which lose revenue; and the Nigerian aviation industry, which suffers reputational damage.
Bottom Line: Aviation unions have grounded flights in Lagos and Abuja. Passengers are stranded. The dispute is over union rights and ticket charges. The question is whether the parties will reach a deal or the disruption will continue.