Nationwide Flight Disruptions Loom as Air Traffic Controllers Protest on Wednesday
- Air passengers are in for disappointment as flight operations in Nigeria might shut down on Wednesday across airports nationwide
- This follows a planned protest by air controllers in Nigerian airports over FG's decision to deduct 50% from aviation agencies's IGR
- The workers urged the federal government to exempt them from the deduction policy and resolve the issues affecting Nigeria’s airspace
Legit.ng journalist Victor Enengedi has over a decade's experience covering Energy, MSMEs, Technology and the Stock Market.
Flights across Nigerian airports might halt on Wednesday, September 18, as air traffic controllers plan to protest the federal government’s decision to deduct 50% from the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of aviation agencies.
The National President of the Nigerian Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), Abayomi Agoro, expressed concern in a statement on Saturday, stating that safety operations in Nigeria’s aviation industry are deteriorating to unacceptable levels.
Source: UGC
It would be recalled that in early August, aviation unions instructed workers to hold protests at airports across Nigeria, demanding an end to the federal government’s 50% deductions.
In response, aviation minister Festus Keyamo urged the workers to stay calm and uphold industrial harmony, assuring them that the government was diligently working to resolve the issue amicably.
Air controllers threaten flights shutdown
Agoro emphasized that the financial strain on these agencies is crippling the sector’s functionality, calling for an immediate exemption of aviation agencies from the policy, which he says is compromising both safety and efficiency.
According to The Sun, Agoro said the alarming situation poses significant risks to Nigerian airspace's safety and operational effectiveness if left unaddressed.
The association, therefore, called on its members to observe a nationwide protest on Wednesday until further notice.
The statement read:
“Considering these developments, NATCA’s council, by this press release, places all air traffic controllers on notice that our mother union has directed a nationwide protest effective from “0000 hours on the 18th of September 2024”, all controllers are to comply with the instructions from our mother union until further notice."
Agoro urged the federal government to take immediate action by exempting aviation agencies from the IGR deduction policy and resolving the financial issues jeopardizing the safety and operational efficiency of Nigeria’s airspace.
Nigerian airlines to begin US, UK flights
In related news, Legit.ng reported that some Nigerian airlines are now permitted to operate flights to the United Kingdom and Europe, thanks to the Third Country Operator (TCO) certificate the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) granted them.
This certification streamlines the process for selected airlines planning to serve routes in the UK and various European nations, including Air Peace, Omni Blu Airline, United Nigeria Airlines, and others that recently acquired the TCO.
The TCO facilitates a smoother application process for these airlines to operate on designated routes without complications.
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Source: Legit.ng
