Tackling Aviation Union, Air Peace Impasse

Chinedu Eze

Since the picketing of Air Peace operation at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on August 11, 2026, aviation labour unions seem to have been restless.

The restlessness may stem from the fact that the picketing did not end the way they expected, given previous experiences, where they would be begged to end the action and reconciliation would take place and they would be pacified.

This time around, the incident ended differently because of the global implication of what they did, as feedback indicated that the global aviation community was aghast when it saw the videos of the disruptions, far away in Canada, the United States and other parts of the world. The action raised a lot of questions concerning airport security, flight operations and regulations.

Perhaps this may be what has kept the matter on the front burner. Last week, the unions comprising the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE), National Association of Aircraft Piolts And Engineers (NAAPE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSAN), Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), held a press conference in Lagos concerning the issue.

In a press statement released from the conference, they said: “The unions in the aviation sector carried out a peaceful industrial action against Air Peace on the grounds of the airline’s refusal to allow its workers to join trade unions as well as its prolonged failure to remit to aviation agencies, monies collected from air travellers on their behalf known by law as Ticket Sales Charge(TSC)and Cargo Sales Charge (CSC).”

They also said: “The Industrial action against Air peace was the beginning of a planned series of actions against members of the Airline operators of Nigeria (AON) who were affected by the two stated offences”

Among many allegations against Air Peace, the unions said the airline reported the unions to the Inspector General of Police, “orchestrated a blockage of aircraft manoeuvring area and taxiway of the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos”, and also accused the National Security Adviser (NSA) of shielding the airline. They also threatened that after the press conference, they would “approach the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to request a forensic audit on Air Peace’s funding as a means of clarifying the fog that surrounds this mystery.”

However, investigations showed that the unions should not have disrupted Air Peace flight or the flight of any domestic operator because the major reason why they disrupted the flight operations of Air Peace was already settled days before the picketing.

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority and the Nigerian operators who owed the accumulated Ticket and Cargo Sales Charge had already agreed on payment modalities before the picketing.

The Unions did not dispute this when the Spokesman of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) and the Executive Chairman of United Nigeria Airlines, Professor Obiora Okonkwo, made it clear that NCAA and the airlines had amicably agreed on the payment modalities for the legacy debt long before the picketing took place.

Okonkwo spoke at the 30th League of Airports and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) conference held in Lagos on September 10, 2026 and said, “The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and domestic airline operators had established and were actively implementing a structured payment plan for legacy Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) debts prior to the labour unions picketing Air Peace operations on August 11, 2026.”

So, the unions lied when they said they picketed Air Peace because the airlines refused to pay TSC debts to NCAA and other agencies.

The unions also claimed that the second reason why they picketed Air Peace was because the airline and some others allegedly stopped their workers from joining the unions.

Further investigations showed that this was not true because the unions did not present any letter from the aggrieved workers to support the claim. It was learnt from some of the union members that days before they picketed Air Peace, some executive members of the aviation unions met with the leadership of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) who told them that they do not have “strong legal backing” to protest against the refusal of airlines to pay TSC charges, so they should add refusal of the airlines to allow their workers join the unions “to make their case stronger.”

Besides, the law said that joining the unions is not compulsory. Some airline workers said they were not enthusiastic about joining the unions. In fact, one of them said that unionism has been politicised.

Also, while Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) guarantees freedom of association, allowing workers the right to join or form a trade union; Section 12(4) of the Trade Unions Act explicitly states that no person shall be compelled to join or remain a member of a trade union. 

So, none of the two reasons given was cogent enough to picket the airline. This is the reason why Aviation Round Table (ART) issued a statement and unequivocally condemned the picketing of the airline.

“The rules of engagement and understanding of issues must drive how unions fight or advocate for a cause, not through the use of coercion, intimidation, or disruption. These actions directly contravene core tenets of Nigerian law designed to protect critical national infrastructure.

“Under Section 29 of the Civil Aviation Act, all services facilitating safe flight operations, passenger embarkation, and cargo handling within aerodromes are explicitly designated as essential services, strictly prohibiting strikes, lockouts, pickets, blockades, or service disruptions of any kind within regulated aviation facilities,” ART had said.

Also, the unions claimed that they organised a peaceful protest but it is on record, with video evidence, that the union members physically assaulted the staff of Air Peace. One was even beaten that there were blood stains on her. So, the protest was by no means peaceful and this may have explained why some of the workers left their duty posts and ran for safety, which may also explain why some vehicles were abandoned at the airside.

Many industry observers said that it was untenable when the unions said they picketed Air Peace first and wanted to picket the others the following days. In all the statements issued by the unions to disrupt the airlines’ operations, they referred to and addressed Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON). But in carrying the action, they did not touch any other airline, except Air Peace.

Some retired staff of aviation agencies who were members of the unions in their active days volunteered that some of them had advised the “present crop of unionists to device new means of carrying out their activities because you cannot continue to be antagonistic to people who are investing in the aviation industry.”

Improving the relationship between the airlines and the unions may be long overdue and it would be wise if it could start now.