Arik suspends domestic flights over unions ' protest

ALL domestic flights of Arik Air from the Murtala Muhammed Airport were suspended yesterday due to a protest by aviation unions.The unions which protested the alarming debts owed by the airline to various agencies in the aviation industry, included the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE).The suspension of the domestic flights by Arik Air yesterday resulted in frantic search for alternatives by stranded passengers to get to Lagos from Asaba, the Delta State capital.At the Asaba Airport, passengers started trooping in only to learn that the airline had suspended all domestic airlines over disagreement with aviation industry unions.The President, ATSSSAN, Benjamin Okewu said yesterday that the unions in the aviation industry were embarking on a revenue drive to recover debts owed by Arik to the agencies in the sector.He pointed out that from the statistics available to them, Arik Air owed the Federal Airports Authority (FAAN) over N7 billion, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) over N5 billion and Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) over N5 billion.According to him, there was also the component of dollars for all the three agencies, adding that, 'we also have the handling agencies like Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL) N500 and something million, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) N380 million and we are not even talking about all the oil companies that are supplying Jet A1.'But basically every attempt that we have made to get government to make them see reasons and reduce these debts are falling on deaf ears and what we are doing today is not targeted at Arik alone.If you look at the debt profile all the other airlines put together cannot even meet up to 20 per cent of what Arik is owing. So why will you be disturbing other airlines which are at least servicing their debts''The General Manager, Public Affairs, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Akin Olukunle, who confirmed the disruption of Arik Air operations yesterday at Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, said it was brought to the attention of the management of FAAN that members of the industrial unions in the aviation industry carried out a protest.According to the statement by the authority, the industrial action, which entailed the interruption of the airlines flights at the airport, was allegedly to recover debts owed by the airline to various agencies.Also at a press briefing by the airline yesterday, the Managing Director, Chris Ndulue stated that the airlines' domestic flights were disrupted because of the protest by the aviation workers, adding that the management could not understand why the unions had decided to embark on the strike as FAAN had been collecting its charges in advance.
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