After the disruption of Air Peace flights on Tuesday, many industry experts lament that aviation unions have become a disincentive to investment in the sector, writes Chinedu Eze The National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and the Air Transport Service Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) on Tuesday carried out a picketing exercise and disrupted the operations of Nigeria’s leading carrier, Air Peace. The exercise carried out at the General Aviation Terminal (GAT), the main operations hub of Air Peace for domestic flight services at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, recorded cancellation of about 80 flights and a loss of over N2 billion. The picketing targeted at Air Peace, prompted United Nigeria Airlines and Enugu Air to temporarily suspend flight operations in protest. Also in Abuja, the picketing led to delay of flights of other airlines that were not picketed. Many passengers were stranded both in Lagos and in Abuja due to the picketing and they also incurred personal losses. For example, when the union members disrupted operations at the Lagos airport, it gave rise to traffic jam along airport road from Ikeja, which created undue pressure to travellers going to the domestic terminals at GAT and MMA2. Commercial motorcycle riders who illegally prowl the roads around the airport charged travellers between N30, 000 to N50, 000 to the terminals from the Murtala Muhammed Airport Road, which is about 25 minutes’ walk. So, both the travellers and the airlines incurred heavy losses due to the action of the union members. Unions’ Grouse The unions said they were protesting against the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) owed the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) by the airlines and the non-unionization of airline workers. On August 10, 2026, the unions issued a statement giving ultimatum to the management of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), over lingering labour infractions and unfair industrial practices. The statement claimed that the unions have, on several occasions, written to AON member airlines and operators regarding various labour-related issues, including the unionisation of their workers. Despite these efforts and repeated engagements, the issues remain unresolved. After allegations in the subsequent paragraphs, the letter stated, “The immediate issue of concern is the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC), which is a statutory obligation established by law and supported by relevant International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) instruments. It is, therefore, not a discretionary payment. “As of the latest assessment, domestic airlines are withholding over N25 billion in statutory funds due to the NCAA and other aviation agencies. This has adversely affected the ability of these agencies to meet their obligations, including the timely implementation of our Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) and other joint agreements.” The unions listed their demand as follows: “Immediate Union Access, that domestic airlines must immediately cease all anti-unionization tactics and allow workers to exercise their right to organize.” The second demand was regulation of staff, requesting immediate end to casualisation, with proper letters of appointment issued to all qualified personnel and the third demand was full remittance of outstanding withheld funds. It has to be noted that the letter was addressed to Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) but they only picketed Air Peace and disrupted their flights the following day. Premeditated Disruption Another thing industry stakeholders observed was that the statement was issued on August 10 and the picketing took place the following day; so, the unions did not give the airlines any time to react to their letter. Also, out of over 12 schedule commercial airlines that operate in Nigeria, only Arik Air and Aero Contractors have unions. But they only chose to picket Air Peace, ironically one of the airlines that have the best welfare package for their workers. Some members of the unions not involved in the picketing were of the view that the picketing was sponsored because the unions did not have any reason to disrupt the airline’s flight. They said that NCAA had already conveyed to the unions that they had already arranged a payment system to liquidate the old debts and the airlines were paying as scheduled. Secondly, that the reason of joining the union was not cogent enough to suddenly disrupt the operations of the airlines and the targeting of one airline raises the suspicion of ulterior motive. “All along they have been targeting to disrupt Air Peace operations to teach the airline a lesson for not yielding to their dictate,” a
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