Passengers stranded as Arik staff, unions commence strike

Hundreds of air travellers were left stranded on Tuesday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja as staff of the Nigeria’s biggest carrier, Arik Air embarked on an indefinite strike.
The strike was organised upon by the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), the Air Transport Senior Staff Services Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE).
Aviation unions had directed the commencement of a joint strike with effect from Tuesday over the airline’s failure to pay seven months’ salary arrears to their members.
The joint union comprised of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Air Transport Senior Staff Services
Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE).
At the airport on Tuesday, there were no Arik workers on their ticket counter while many passengers were lamenting the situation.
The situation has been made worse by the fact that the bulk of travellers from the airport fly with the airline.
Many domestic airlines are also not flying because aviation fuel scarcity.
An official of the Airport who did not want his name in print said that Arik had been the only domestic carrier with the capacity to manage the passenger traffic.
He said that the situation, if not urgently handled, could affect flight operations during yuletide when there would be traffic upsurge.
A passenger, Mr Isaac Debo, who said he was not aware of the development, lamented that he had missed business engagement in Lagos.
Debo who describe the situation as a national embarrassment for Nigeria, called on the management of Arik to urgently address the issue and resume operation.
“I want to call on government to do something about the proposed establishment of a national carrier, if there is a national carrier, people will not be taking all this non-sense,’’ he said.
Attempts to get reaction of the management of the airline to the strike were not successful as calls to its spokesperson, Ola Adebanji were neither answered nor returned as well as text messages.
The unions had vowed that the strike would continue indefinitely, until their demands were met by the management of Arik Air.
As early as 6 a.m, the aggrieved workers stormed Lagos airport, chanting solidarity songs and carrying placards with various inscriptions, denouncing the actions of Arik Air’s management.
Addressing the protesters, Mr Olayinka Abioye,  General Secretary, NUATE,  said the unions decided to ground Arik Air for safety reasons.
Abioye said : “Arik Air has refused to pay workers salaries for seven months and we know that a disgruntled worker is an accident waiting to happen.
“The airline has been defaulting in taxes and other statutory deductions from workers remunerations.
“The management has refused to allow total unionisation of its employees, in compliance with extant labour laws and with respect to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
He also demanded for the immediate reinstatement of five of the airline’s employees who were sacked for their involvement in unionism.
Abioye further alleged that Arik Air was owing about N13 billion and N6 billion to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), respectively.
According to him, the airline was also indebted to its aviation fuel suppliers and ground handlers and should therefore be declared insolvent by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
Also speaking, Mr Frances Akinjole, General Secretary, ATSSSAN, said the unions were prepared to embark on the strike for as long as possible.
“Things cannot be business as usual for Arik. A pilot who is disgruntled can crash an aircraft deliberately. An engineer who is being owed salaries can sabotage the aircraft.
“So we need to ground Arik Air until the management shows that they are responsible,” Akinjole added.
Some of Arik Air’s passengers at the General Aviation Terminal resorted to changing their travel plans as there was no staff to attend to them at the airline’s counter.
One of the passengers, Ms Tomisin Olukare, said that she bought a one-way ticket from Lagos to Abuja at N42, 000 three days ago.
“I came this morning and there is nobody to attend to me and my flight is supposed to leave by 10 a.m., so I am really confused,” she said.
Another passenger, Mrs Chika Emmanuel, said an agent assisted her in buying an Air Peace ticket for Abuja immediately she sensed that there was going to be a disruption on Arik Air operations.
Emmanuel said she would be demanding for a refund of her ticket from Arik Air when she returns from her trip.
When contacted, the Corporate Communications Manager of Arik Air, Mr Ola Adebanji, said the airline would soon issue a statement explaining their position on the situation.