Passengers Stranded as Aviation Workers embark on Indefinite Strike

From Kathy Kyari

Due to a strike by employees of the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (NAHCo Plc), passengers at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos were stranded on Monday.

Some of the domestic and international airlines that the corporation manages are unable to board their flight, attend to inbound flights, or participate in other passenger and cargo facilitation processes.

According to information obtained by our correspondent, the employees enrolled in this course as a result of NAHCO management's neglect of their Condition of Service (CoS), which has been on the table for more than four years.

International airlines like Air France/KLM, Qatar, Ethiopian Airlines, Delta Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, and Turkish Air use NAHCO's check-in, boarding, and ramp services.

According to information obtained by Anchor Press, passenger flights operated by Royal Air Maroc and Qatar Airlines have been diverted, while Virgin Atlantic, which is at the airport, is offloading with its staff while the cargo is still in the plane because NAHCO employees refused to report for duty. Only passengers stepped off the ship.

Due to the strike, domestic airlines operated by NAHCO, including Air Peace, Dana, and others, had to postpone and reschedule their flights.

Comrades Ocheme Aba and Frances Akinjole, the Secretaries General of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), previously issued a statement informing NAHCO's management of the strike, which stated: "As all ultimatum issued by our unions have gone unheeded and the Management continues to play on our intelligence by scheduling of pointless meetings".

The additional clause stated that the strike action will continue indefinitely unless otherwise instructed by the union secretary.