Chairman of Air Peace, Dr Allen Onyema, says airlines will not be intimidated by aviation unions threatening to disrupt operations over alleged Ticket Sales Charges remittance failures.
Speaking with journalists in Lagos on Wednesday, Onyema described the planned action as unprecedented and an attempt to intimidate domestic airline operators.
He stressed that airlines had no dispute with aviation unions, insisting that statutory charge remittance issues were strictly between operators and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
“We do not have any problem with any union, neither do we have any business with the unions. This is an aberration; it has never been heard before,” he said.
Onyema said Nigerian airlines had maintained open communication with the NCAA and always responded whenever invited for discussions on industry matters.
He noted that operators continued engaging regulators in spite of severe financial pressures and difficult operating conditions facing the aviation sector.
Citing International Air Transport Association assessments, Onyema said Nigeria remained among the most challenging environments globally for airline survival and sustainable operations.
He argued that stakeholders had failed to address systemic challenges responsible for the collapse of more than 50 airlines over the years.
According to him, domestic carriers grapple with multiple operational costs, including commercial loans attracting interest rates between 30 and 33 per cent.
He also identified inadequate infrastructure and recurrent bird strikes as major constraints affecting airline operations across the country.
In spite of these challenges, Onyema said airlines continued providing essential air transport services and supporting economic activities nationwide.
He warned that any attempt by unions to ground airline operations over the TSC dispute would create a dangerous precedent for the industry.
Onyema maintained that disagreements involving debts between regulated entities and government agencies were not normally resolved through industrial action.
“If they want to shut down the industry, we are waiting for them. If they picket one airline, others will go,” he said.
He added that domestic carriers had continued cooperating with the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development and the NCAA Director-General on resolving outstanding issues.
Addressing the TSC controversy, Onyema acknowledged that airlines did not wish to owe government agencies any statutory payments.
However, he argued that the current collection framework was difficult to implement and required a comprehensive review by relevant stakeholders.
He proposed a simpler and more transparent collection system jointly developed by government and industry stakeholders to eliminate existing bottlenecks.
The Air Peace chairman suggested introducing a fixed charge per passenger instead of the current percentage-based model.
According to him, the existing arrangement creates confusion regarding airfare components that should be subjected to statutory levies.
“The airlines are not against helping government generate revenue, but no airline in the world is taxed directly for revenue,” Onyema said.
He expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu remained supportive of Nigeria’s aviation industry and would not allow domestic airlines to collapse.
Onyema alleged that certain interests were using labour unions to exert pressure on local carriers and warned against destabilising the sector.
He said such actions could undermine industry stability, weaken operators and further complicate efforts to build a sustainable aviation sector.
