Arik suspends domestic flights over unions’ protest (The Guardian/Nigeria)

September 21, 2012

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.

Complete article in The Guardian/Nigeria