NCAA Appeals To Aviation Unions To Suspend Strike

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority has appealed to aviation unions to suspend their ongoing industrial action and return to dialogue, as the strike continues to disrupt flight operations across the country.

The appeal was made on Tuesday by the NCAA Director-General, Chris Najomo, who acknowledged the impact of the industrial action on passengers and other stakeholders.

Najomo urged the unions to “sheathe their swords and exercise restraint” pending the return of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, who is leading efforts to resolve the dispute.

According to the NCAA, a meeting convened by Keyamo last week to address the grievances could not hold because airline operators failed to attend.

“The matter would have been addressed at the meeting convened by the Honourable Minister last week, but the meeting could not be held as the airline operators failed to honour the invitation,” the authority said.

The industrial action has disrupted flight operations, with aviation unions shutting down operations of Air Peace, one of Nigeria’s largest airlines, as part of their demands.

The disruption has left several passengers stranded at airports, with many facing delays and uncertainty over their travel plans.

The NCAA called on all parties to return to the negotiating table, expressing confidence that the dispute would be resolved soon.

“We appeal to all parties to embrace dialogue and cooperation. We are confident that the matter will be resolved shortly and normal flight operations will resume as soon as practicable,” Najomo said.

The aviation regulator also assured passengers that the industrial action had not compromised flight safety, stressing that it remained committed to carrying out its statutory safety oversight responsibilities.

“The NCAA assures the travelling public that flight safety remains uncompromised, and that the Authority continues to exercise its statutory safety oversight responsibilities,” Najomo said.

The authority, however, apologised to affected passengers for the inconvenience caused by the disruption and appreciated their patience and understanding.

Meanwhile, Air Peace apologised to passengers whose travel plans had been disrupted, describing the situation as temporary.

The airline said passengers scheduled to travel later on Tuesday were being contacted and provided with updates as developments unfolded.

“Air Peace sincerely apologises to all affected and stranded passengers for the disruption and inconvenience caused by circumstances beyond the airline’s control,” the airline said.

It added that it was closely monitoring the situation and would provide further updates to passengers.