Air Peace has resumed flight operations across its major stations after aviation unions disrupted the airline’s services in Lagos, Abuja and Enugu on Tuesday.
The airline’s spokesperson, Efe Whiskey, confirmed the development in a telephone interview, saying flights had commenced despite the picketing of Air Peace facilities by aviation workers’ unions.
“We are operating flights already. Flights will operate today irrespective of the situation,” Whiskey said.
He said the unions picketed Air Peace operations in Lagos, Enugu and Abuja, describing the three locations as major hubs and night-stop stations for the airline.
“The unions picketed our operations across board — Lagos, Enugu, Abuja. However, at some other stations, they were not able to go,” he said.
According to Whiskey, the disruption at the three major stations significantly affected the airline’s operations because of their importance to its flight network.
He alleged that Air Peace was specifically targeted because its employees had declined to join the unions.
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The unions had accused the airline of failing to remit five per cent Ticket Sales Charge, or TSC, but Whiskey maintained that the statutory payment had already been made to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.
“They stated that we are owing them a 5% TSC. But we’ve already paid that to the regulatory body, which is NCAA. So we don’t even know why they are picketing us,” he said.
The spokesperson also said Air Peace had anticipated the picketing after the airline’s chairman raised concerns about the planned action in a previous statement.
He questioned why Air Peace was allegedly singled out when the unions had announced plans to picket Nigerian airlines over the dispute.
“These people stated that they were going to picket all Nigerian airlines. However, the likes of Ibom Air, Enugu Air, even Aero, operated flights today. And you solely picked on only Air Peace,” Whiskey said.
He further insisted that Air Peace had been making payments to the unions and argued that the airline’s refusal to allow its employees to join the unions was at the centre of the dispute.
“We’ve been paying these unions. We’ve been paying them. So, why did you single out Air Peace?” he asked.
Whiskey said Air Peace employees had staged a peaceful protest to express their opposition to joining the unions but alleged that the demonstration was later disrupted by individuals he claimed were affiliated with the unions.
“We don’t want to join at all. We had a peaceful protest,” he said.
He added that the airline remained opposed to joining the unions, noting that some legacy carriers, including Arik and Aero, were already affiliated with them.
“The only airlines that have joined are the legacy carriers within Nigeria, which are Arik and Aero, which have existed more than Air Peace. So, yes, we are stating that we are not going to, and we are still standing, that we are not going to join,” he said.
The development followed an industrial action by aviation unions that disrupted flight operations at some Nigerian airports and left passengers stranded.
The dispute centres on the alleged non-remittance of the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge and concerns over the rights of airline workers to unionise.
The National Union of Air Transport Employees and the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria had earlier issued notices to airlines over alleged outstanding remittances.
In a July 28 notice, the unions reportedly gave affected airlines a seven-day ultimatum to settle the alleged outstanding charges, warning that failure to comply could lead to picketing.
The unions subsequently commenced the action in the early hours of Tuesday, restricting access to Air Peace operations at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
The disruption reportedly left passengers stranded and affected scheduled flights.
However, Air Peace’s confirmation that operations have resumed means passengers can expect flights to continue, even as the dispute between the airline and the aviation unions remains unresolved.
