The Federal Government has reached a resolution with domestic airlines and aviation unions to address outstanding financial obligations and labour disputes that recently disrupted flight operations at some Nigerian airports.
The agreement was reached at an emergency meeting convened by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, with the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), aviation unions and heads of aviation agencies.
Under the resolution, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and other aviation agencies will obtain payment schedules from airlines with outstanding debts and allow the obligations to be settled over a reasonable period.
The repayment plans will take into account the airlines’ operational costs and prevailing economic realities, according to the resolutions contained in a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mahmud Kambari.
The Directors of Finance and Accounts of the affected aviation agencies are also required to meet with individual airlines within one week to negotiate and agree on realistic repayment schedules.
The stakeholders also resolved the dispute over union access to aviation workers, affirming employees’ right to freely choose whether or not to belong to a union.
Airlines that prevent unions from having direct access to their workers will face sanctions from the NCAA, the agreement stated.
The stakeholders further agreed to reconvene after one month to assess compliance with the resolutions and review the state of industrial relations across the aviation sector.
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The Permanent Secretary stressed that the resolutions were collectively reached by all parties at the emergency meeting.
Keyamo, meanwhile, assured stakeholders of the Federal Government’s commitment to building a safe and viable aviation industry.
He also reiterated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to maintaining a safe, efficient, peaceful and sustainable aviation sector.
The resolutions are expected to provide a framework for resolving outstanding financial and labour disputes while preventing further disruptions to flight operations across Nigerian airports.
