Pilots, aviation engineers, and workers from the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers, the National Union of Air Transport Employees, and the Air Transport Service Senior Staff Association of Nigeria have urgently asked President Bola Tinubu to intervene and prevent what they describe as the “irresponsible suspension” of Arik Air.
The associations made this statement in an open letter that was jointly signed by Olayinka Abioye, the general secretary of NAAPE, Ocheme Aba, the general secretary of NUATE, and Francis Akinjole, the principal general secretary of ATSSSAN.
A copy of the letter was obtained on Monday, and it stated that the airline’s passengers were left feeling devastated and frustrated by the airline’s grounding, which also made the country’s already dire air travel situation worse.
The president was informed by the unions that unless Arik Air’s current predicament is resolved, the future of the airline’s 2,000 employees and their 16,000 dependents will remain uncertain and could potentially increase the already high rate of unemployment in the nation.
Because there weren’t enough planes operating on the nation’s domestic routes, the airline’s grounding occurred at a time when tickets were prohibitively expensive.
Remember that Dana was grounded by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority in April due to what the regulators described as a “elevated safety concern” raised by the airline.
Also in July, NAMA in adherence to a court judgment instituted by Arik Air’s creditor, Arthur Eze, grounded the airline over a $2.5m debt.
According to a document obtained from the NCAA, both airlines have 16 aircraft while 9 are unserviceable.
The letter partly reads, “This action has created anguish and severe frustration among Arik Air’s passengers and has exacerbated the present air travel challenges in our dear Country. Mr President can 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.
“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. This is apart from losses of other third-party vendors and service providers – airports, aviation agencies, ground handlers, fuelers, caterers, etc. This will have a significant negative impact on the earnings of FAAN, NAMA, NIMET, NSIB, and NCAA.”
While appealing to the president for any amicable settlement between the feuding parties, the union added, “Your Excellency, Sir, while we cannot arrogate the review of any judicial decision regarding the matter to ourselves as trade unions, we 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.”
