Passengers Stranded as Union Shut  Lagos Airport  over Sacked Members

Chinedu Eze

Travellers arriving to board early morning flights to different destinations from the major domestic terminal, the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2 (MMA2), Lagos,  yesterday were stranded, as the facility was closed   to both workers and passengers by the members of the Air Transport Senior Staff Services Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) due to the sack of their colleagues by Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL).

But the management of BASL, the operators of MMA2, has said the action of the union was illegal and contravened the laid down principles of industrial relations and in total violation of the laws of Nigeria.

Domestic airlines, which operations were disrupted by the closure did not envisage it and were confused about what to do to airlift their passengers in the critical early morning flights, as the union members defiantly blocked access to the terminal.

They later relocated temporarily to the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) operated by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), known as MMA1.

The activities of the union members led to traffic gridlock, which lasted for hours, as they blocked movements in and out of the terminal, thus forcing vehicles to remain standstill on the essential link road between the international and local terminals that also connects to the busy Ikeja under bridge, where the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital is located.

However, before the end of yesterday there were strong indications that the unions would call off its action, as a source close to one of the unions disclosed that negotiations were ongoing between it and the management of BASL.

The unions were protesting the sack of 34 out of the 37 workers laid off on Friday last week by the management of BASL.

The barricading of the  entrance of the terminal by the unions, led to chaos at the airport as hundreds of air travellers who had planned to travel out of the state through the terminal were stranded.

Some of the airlines were forced to cancel or delay their flights due to the action of the unions.

Some of the airlines affected were United Nigeria, Max Air, Azman Air, Ibom Air, Arik Air, ValueJet and Green Africa Airways.

BASL in a statement signed by Head, Corporate Communications, BASL, Oluwatosin Onalaja, declared that the action was in total violation of the laws of Nigeria, stressing that there was no proper notice from the union.

The statement accused the union of bringing in members who were not employees of BASL to prevent its employees from working, saying that this would set a bad precedent in the country.

BASL emphasised that those laid off were unproductive staff, insisting that the company had the right to manage its business in the most prudent manner.

It added the terminal operator would not be intimidated by external forces to rescind its decision.

The statement added: “The unions are also claiming that we should apply the conditions of service, which we signed in June, 2021 retrospectively.  Again, this is contrary to established rules of industrial relations and the laws of Nigeria.

“On being made aware of a court order issued by the National Industrial Court on October 31, 2022, the unions disregarded the order and continued to lock up our premises and disturb the operations of the terminal in a clear violation of the court order.  This is a recipe for anarchy,” the statement said.

BASL insisted that the action of ATSSSAN was illegal and contravened the laid down principles of industrial relations.

 “We remain very law-abiding citizens and use this medium to apologise to all our clients and stakeholders for the totally unacceptable behaviour of the unions,” BASL also said.

The members of Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria and sister industry unions, as early as 4am on Tuesday, stormed the terminal, barricaded its entrance and exit points.

Earlier, some of the airlines operating in the terminal notified their passengers of the disruption to flight services.

For instance, Ibom Air in a statement signed by its management said efforts were being made to resolve the situation and find alternatives.

The statement said: “This is to bring to the attention of our esteemed passengers and the public that our operating terminal out of Lagos, the Murtala Mohammed Airport 2, operated by Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited has been completely closed off to workers and passengers alike by the labour union, very early this morning.

“Efforts are currently being made to resolve the situation; however, please note that this action will greatly impact our flights scheduled in and out of Lagos today. We greatly regret the impact of this unexpected action on your day’s plans as we urge you to kindly stay close to all our communication channels for subsequent updates.”

The airline, like others, later in the day, relocated its flights to GAT.

The Deputy General Secretary, ATSSSAN, Comrade Frances Akinjole vowed that the union would not retreat until the affected staff were re-engaged or treated fairly by the BASL management.

He decried that the terminal operator had the penchant for disregarding labour laws and mentioned the 2018 sack of 29 of its members by the same management without the due process as some of its intimidating actions against the workers.

ATSSSAN had on Monday, alleged that 34 out of its members out of the 37 sacked staff were laid off with “ordinary e-mails” sent to their different boxes with disregard to the rule of law after they were first sent on compulsory leave of absence for 10 days.

Akinjole stated that most of those affected by the action had put in at least a decade into the job with the company.

Akinjole insisted that the action was to witch-hunt its members working with the terminal operator, stressing that its branch chairman, branch secretary, branch treasurer and branch women leader were all affected by the sack.

This was the second time in four years that aviation unions would be picketing MMA2 over workers issues.

The unions in 2018 disrupted services at the terminal for two days over alleged “unjustified” sacking of 29 of its members from the company.

It took the intervention of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) before the issue could be resolved.