The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority has appealed to aviation unions to suspend their ongoing industrial action and return to negotiations, as the dispute continues to disrupt flight operations across the country.
The NCAA said a meeting convened by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, last week to address the unions’ grievances could not hold because airline operators failed to attend.
The appeal was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by the NCAA Director-General, Chris Najomo.
The regulator acknowledged the effect of the industrial action on passengers and other stakeholders, urging the unions to exercise restraint while efforts to resolve the dispute continue.
The NCAA said, “We are aware of the ongoing industrial action by aviation unions and its impact on passengers and other stakeholders.”
Najomo appealed to the unions to “sheathe their swords and exercise restraint” pending the return of the minister, whom he said had been actively working to resolve the dispute.
According to the authority, the grievances could have been addressed at the meeting called by Keyamo, but the absence of airline operators stalled the process.
“The matter would have been addressed at the meeting convened by the Honourable Minister last week, but the meeting could not be held as the airline operators failed to honour the invitation,” the NCAA said.
The industrial action has affected operations of Air Peace, Nigeria’s largest airline, with passengers left stranded at airports amid the dispute between aviation unions and airline operators.
The NCAA urged all parties to embrace dialogue, expressing confidence that normal flight operations would resume once the disagreement is resolved.
Najomo said, “We appeal to all parties to embrace dialogue and cooperation. We are confident that the matter will be resolved shortly and normal flight operations will resume as soon as practicable.”
The aviation regulator also assured travellers that the industrial action had not affected flight safety, stressing that it remained committed to its statutory oversight responsibilities.
“The NCAA assures the travelling public that flight safety remains uncompromised, and that the Authority continues to exercise its statutory safety oversight responsibilities,” Najomo said.
He apologised to passengers for the disruption and thanked them for their patience.
Meanwhile, Air Peace described the disruption as temporary and apologised to passengers affected by the development.
In a statement, the airline said passengers scheduled to fly later on Tuesday were being contacted and updated on developments.
“Air Peace sincerely apologises to all affected and stranded passengers for the disruption and inconvenience caused by circumstances beyond the airline’s control,” the airline said.
It added that it was monitoring the situation and would provide further updates as events unfold.
