Air Peace has apologised to passengers following the disruption of its flight operations at the Lagos and Abuja airports on Tuesday after aviation unions commenced picketing activities at the terminals.
The industrial action affected operations at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) in Abuja, leaving passengers stranded and preventing some scheduled flights from departing.
In a statement issued in Lagos, Air Peace management said union members blocked access to the airline’s departure terminals, including MMA Terminal 1, which houses the Alpha and Zulu terminals, MMA Terminal 2 and the airline’s facility at NAIA.
According to the airline, the blockade made it impossible for scheduled flights to leave the two airports, disrupting the travel plans of passengers across its network.
Air Peace expressed regret over the development and apologised to passengers affected by the situation.
“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.
The carrier added that passengers scheduled to travel later in the day were being contacted and updated as developments unfolded.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has appealed to the aviation unions to suspend the industrial action and return to dialogue.
The NCAA Director-General, Capt. Chris Najomo, urged the unions to exercise restraint and await the return of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, who he said had been working to resolve the dispute.
Najomo said the regulator was monitoring the situation and was aware of the impact of the action on passengers and other stakeholders.
He explained that a meeting convened by the aviation minister the previous week could have provided an avenue to settle the issues, but the engagement failed to take place because airline operators did not attend.
“The matter would have been addressed at the meeting convened by the minister last week, but the meeting could not hold, as the airline operators failed to honour the invitation,” he said.
The NCAA chief called on the parties involved to resume discussions, expressing optimism that the disagreement would soon be resolved and normal flight operations restored.
He also assured travellers that the industrial action had not affected aviation safety, stressing that the NCAA remained committed to carrying out its statutory safety oversight duties.
“The NCAA assures the traveling public that flight safety remains uncompromised and that the authority continues to exercise its statutory safety oversight responsibilities,” Najomo said.
He, however, sympathised with passengers over the disruption and appealed for their patience and understanding.
(NAN)