Passengers stranded as engineers ground Air Nigeria flights

Hundreds of passengers were stranded at the Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, on Monday, after Air Nigerias aircraft maintenance engineers grounded the airlines flights over poor working condition.The engineers, under the aegis of the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers, downed tools at about 11am.Passengers who had booked early became disappointed as no flight by the airline was allowed to depart the airport.The aircraft engineers, who must certify and release planes before they are flown by pilots, refused clearance to Air Nigerias flights.The development forced the airline management to stop its light operations.Some passengers, who had boarded some Air Nigerias flights scheduled to depart at around 11:30am, had to disembark when the engineers refused to clear the planes.Some of the disappointed passengers who requested for their ticket refunds were immediately paid.At about 12pm, some of the engineers, led by the President, NAAPE, Mr. Isaac Balami, were seen besieging the airlines counters at the departure terminal of MMA2.The spokesman of NCAA, Mr. Sam Adurogboye, said the agency got a report that the carriers chief engineer had been sacked and had dispatched a team of inspectors to investigate the matter.The airline, in a statement by its spokesman, Mr. Sam Ogbogoro, confirmed that there had been disruptions to its flight operations due to a trade dispute with some aircraft engineers in its employ.It said the dispute came about as a result of a management change within the airlines Maintenance department, which did not result in anyone losing their job.The statement read in part, We have been informed that the Nigerian Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers has reacted to this change and raised other issues regarding the welfare of the engineers in the airlines employment.All these have culminated in the airlines engineers embarking on a strike action, causing significant disruptions of the airlines operations.While regretting the inconveniences the dispute had caused its passengers, the airline gave an assurance that efforts were ongoing to resolve the matter as quickly as possible. In order to minimise the inconveniences, we have set up a refund process for passengers wishing to seek alternative arrangements for their travels, the company said.
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