Stakeholders: Incessant Disruption of Airline Operations by Labour Unions Stifling Nation’s Economy

Chinedu Eze

Stakeholders in Nigeria’s aviation industry have warned the different aviation unions over the incessant disruption of airline operations, insisting that such disruption is impacting negatively on the nation’s economy.

The stakeholders posited that air transport in Nigeria would continue to drive economic growth through the swift movement of key decision-makers, investors, and business leaders between major hubs like Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt.

They explained that the rapid mobility would continue to save crucial time, boost productivity, encourage investment, and connect local markets to global trade networks, adding that when the chain of movement is disrupted by the unions, it impacts negatively on the nation’s economy.

The stakeholders were reacting to the threat by National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and Air Transport Service Senior Staff Association (ATSSSAN), which recently issued a seven-day notice to picket airlines indebted to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on Ticket Sales Charge (TSC).

TSC debt accumulated to billions of naira since the US-Iran war increased the cost of aviation fuel from N900 per litre to N3, 500 per litre at the peak of the war and multiplied the cost of airline operation, which made it difficult to pay the charges as they had planned to do before the Middle East crisis.

The disagreement between labour and the airlines escalated after the two unions declared their intention to picket airlines that they accused of failing to offset the debts as Ticket Sales Charge are collected from passengers on behalf of aviation agencies.

The unions said the planned action followed the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum and a subsequent seven-day extension issued to the affected airlines.

According to the unions, the TSC is a statutory levy collected from passengers to fund critical aviation agencies, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet).

But before the threat by the unions, THISDAY gathered that NCAA and the airlines had held meetings and agreed on how the debts would be paid. They agreed that airlines must pay initial 10 per cent of the debts and prorate how the rest of the debts would be paid in instalments.

This was confirmed by the Director, Public Affairs and Customer Protection, NCAA, Michael Achimugu, who also told THISDAY that the plan to picket the airlines was called off when the Director General, NCAA, Capt. Chris Najomo intervened in the matter.

“Agreement was reached that the airlines will pay 10 per cent of the debt and pay the rest in instalments. I cannot remember the exact figures but the director general said the payment has commenced. But the unions expressed disappointment with the words used Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON). However, the director general has calmed down the crisis and warned that people should be circumspect in the words they use.

“The unions have the right to insist that that debt owed NCAA should be paid because if the money is not paid it affects the staff.  So, the unions have the right to insist the debts must be paid,” Achimugu said.

However, industry stakeholders are miffed by the tendency of the unions to use disruption of flight operations and picketing of airport terminals as tool to push their demand, noting that it impacts on the economy of the country and discourages investment in the sector.

For example, in 2018 and 2022, aviation unions picketed the Murtala Muhammed Airport domestic terminal, known as MMA2 operated by Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL) over alleged abrupt termination of staff seeking unionisation.

An insider told THISDAY that the destruction meted on the facility, the losses recorded by eateries that operate at the terminal were into millions of naira and shortly after that Spar that operated a mall at the terminal, relocated.

“When you look at the damage done and what the union might claim it has gained, is pyric victory because at the end of the day, the workers you want to save their jobs will have toxic relationship with their employers who have recorded huge losses because of you. Again, the losses incurred is like killing an ant with a sledge hammer. My grouse really is that the unions do not exhaust negotiation before they go into picketing of concerned organisations. You see unions that are too eager to assert their power; not the ones that are thinking of the future of the industry,” the industry insider said.

On the planned picketing of the operations of the airlines, industry analyst and second Vice President of Aviation Round Table, Dr. Alex Nwuba, said picketing was never an end in itself, noting that no industrial action can be sustained indefinitely, and no industry can survive perpetual confrontation, remarking that at some points, the dispute must shift from accusation to diagnosis.

He warned that if unions should take action that cripples the industry, the consequences would not be limited to airlines and agencies, as passengers will be stranded, businesses will suffer, and the economy will absorb the shock.

“Government cannot simply watch an essential sector grind to a halt. It must decide whether to enforce immediate remittance, negotiate a payment schedule, restructure the debt, or provide temporary support to stabilize the industry. Each option carries implications, but doing nothing is not a viable choice once operations are disrupted. The trigger for government action should not be a shutdown; it should be the recognition that a shutdown is imminent. Waiting until the industry collapses before intervening is a failure of governance,” Nwuba said.

The stakeholders said that the only solution to the controversy over the payment of five per cent TSC would be for NCAA to adopt a specific amount they would be collecting from passengers and put a collection system so that the money could come directly to them from the passengers.

According to them, this is the way the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) did with its Passenger Service Charge (PSC) some years ago when similar controversy arose over the payment and since the agency adopted that system, it was no more embroiled in debt controversy with airlines.

One of the stakeholders told THISDAY that NCAA should adopt the new method because it would not only end the death controversy and the “use of labour to intimidate airlines, but it would also remove the financial burden of collecting the money for NCAA and others, noting that while they pay certain percentage of the accrued sum to consultant that processes the money for the agencies, the agencies pay airlines little or nothing for collecting the money from passengers.

“We borrow money from the banks at 30 per cent interest rate but when we add money to the cost of ticket, NCAA will collect five per cent of it. So, we want them to collect the money directly from the passengers and leave us alone. They can fix a certain amount on the ticket and collect the money and airlines will never owe them again,” the stakeholder said.