The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has directed airlines and aviation agencies to reach workable repayment agreements on outstanding financial obligations within one week.
The directive followed an emergency stakeholders’ meeting convened to resolve the dispute between aviation unions and airline operators, which disrupted flight operations at some Nigerian airports on Tuesday, August 11.
Under the agreement, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and other aviation agencies are to engage indebted airlines individually and develop realistic repayment schedules that take into account their operating costs and prevailing economic conditions.
The intervention followed accusations by aviation unions that some airlines had failed to remit the statutory five per cent Ticket Sales Charge collected from passengers. Airline operators, however, maintained that they had been engaging with the NCAA and complying with repayment directives.
The stakeholders also addressed disagreements over the unionisation of airline workers. Keyamo affirmed that employees have the right to decide whether to belong to a trade union, stressing that such decisions must be made by the workers themselves.
The NCAA was directed to allow aviation unions direct access to airline employees to distribute membership forms, with workers free to indicate their individual choices.
The ministry warned that airlines that prevent unions from engaging directly with their employees could face sanctions.
The stakeholders agreed to reconvene in one month to assess compliance with the resolutions and review industrial relations in the aviation sector.
The latest intervention is aimed at resolving outstanding financial obligations while preventing further industrial disputes from disrupting flight operations and passengers.
