…Say Action Threatens 2,000 Jobs, 16000 Dependents
Aviation unions comprising of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association Of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) National Association Of Aircraft Pilots And Engineers (NAAPE) have appealed to President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the grounding of Arik Air’s airplanes by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency(NAMA) in the interest of the country.
The appeal for intervention is contained in an open letter to the President titled, ‘Mr. President Please, Save Our Souls Over The Reckless Grounding Of Arik Air Fleet’.
The letter was signed by the General Secretary of NUATE, Comrade Ocheme, Principal Deputy General Secretary of ATSSSAN, Frances Akinjole, General Secretary, NAAPE, Olayinka Abioye and made available to aviation journalists in Lagos.
The unions reminded the President that NAAPE had forwarded a letter to his esteemed office dated February 20, 2024, with the title “Save our Souls – Request for urgent and compassionate intervention on Arik Air Nigeria Limited (in receivership) over indebtedness between Engr. Prince Arthur Eze and Sir Johnson Arumemi”.
But the unions were shocked that Arik Air’s fleet of four aircraft was grounded by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) on Tuesday July 30, 2024 over the subject matter in the above referenced letter.
This action, the unions said has created anguish and severe frustration among Arik Air’s passengers, and has exacerbated the present air travel challenges in the country, urging the President to imagine the state of mind of those who have made both short- and long-term bookings, including group bookings, with the airline, especially those who may not have the means to pay for alternative flights.
According to the unions, “We are particularly concerned about the fate of the 2000, or so, workers of the Airline and their about 16000 dependents who are unfortunately caught up in this unneeded contraption. Under the current severe socio-economic upheavals, throwing such large numbers of citizens into economic quagmire can only worsen the forbearance strains.”
Continuing, the union said, “This is apart from losses of other third-party vendors and service providers – airports, aviation agencies, ground handlers, fuellers, caterers, etc.”
This, the unions pointed out will have significant negative impact on the earnings of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
The unions stated that against the background of the negative consequences of the earlier similar grounding of Dana Air for which the industry is still counting the losses, the unions said that they considered this avoidable situation to be truly worrisome.
They argued that while they cannot arrogate the review of any judicial decision regarding the matter to themselves as trade unions, they are strongly of the opinion that the mentioned fleet of aircraft cannot be subject of attachment to any writ that might have occasioned the grounding of the airline as the fleet of aircraft do not belong to Arik Air as such, it being lien belonging to secured creditors.
The unions said that while they await the President’s expeditious intervention in this matter, they most passionately request that he use his esteemed office to call all parties in this matter, especially government agencies, to order and allow Arik Air continue their operations even while the issues are being resolved.
The unions asserted that the matter is in the national interest, especially considering that there is an order of court directing all parties to maintain status quo ante.
Recall that NAMA had grounded Arik Air four aircraft, which includes: Boeing 737-700 with the registration number: 5N-MJF, B737-800; 5N-MJQ and DASH8-Q400 with the registration number: 5N-BKX, over $2.5 million debt to one Atlas Petroleum International Ltd.
The agency in a statement signed by the Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Alhaji Abdullahi Musa, had further said that the grounding of the airline’s airplanes was as a result of the Supreme Court judgement
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