Flight operations have been thrown into disarray at two of Nigeria's busiest airports after members of organised labour launched an industrial action that paralysed departures. According to press statements issued by Air Peace Limited and United Nigeria Airlines Company Limited, the protest led to the barricading of the entrances of the departure terminals at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos, as well as the local wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in the nation's capital, Abuja.
The blockade, mounted by members of organised labour that include the Trade Union Congress, restricted access to the affected terminals and stopped the departure of scheduled flights from both Lagos and Abuja. As a result, passengers who had been booked to travel were significantly affected by the sudden disruption of operations, with the industrial action bringing normal movement through the two terminals to a standstill during a busy travel period.
Reacting to the situation, the Director General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, Chris Najomo, appealed to the unions to sheath their swords and exercise restraint. He urged the aggrieved parties to hold off on further action pending the return of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, who is expected to intervene once he is back on ground.
Najomo indicated that the underlying dispute could have been addressed earlier, explaining that the matter would have been resolved at a meeting convened by the minister the previous week. According to him, however, that meeting could not hold because the airline operators involved failed to attend, leaving the grievances unaddressed and setting the stage for the current shutdown of departure operations.
The aviation regulator went further to appeal to all the parties in the dispute to embrace dialogue and cooperation as the way forward, rather than allowing the impasse to persist. In its statement, the authority also expressed regret over the inconveniences caused to passengers who were caught up in the disruption, acknowledging the hardship faced by travellers whose journeys were abruptly halted at the terminals.
Despite the disruption, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority struck a reassuring tone about the days ahead, stating that it was confident the matter would be resolved shortly and that normal flights would resume. The regulator's intervention leaves the resolution of the standoff hinging on renewed talks between the unions, the airline operators and the aviation ministry once the minister returns to take up the issue directly.