Domestic passenger traffic slows on account of labour strike, scarce aviation fuel

Effect of the first day of organised labour’s strike has seen a reduction in domestic passenger traffic at both the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2 (MMA2) and the General Aviation Terminal (GAT). This is coupled with the effects of the near non-availability of Jet A1, also known as aviation fuel.

A visit to the Lagos airport yesterday showed that unions in the aviation subsector affiliated to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) blocked the Strabag Roundabout, an access way to and from both the International and the MMA2.

There was heavy police presence at the hotspot as the unions chanted slogans and sang aggressively, while making it difficult for travellers to move to their airports and access their flights. The unions did not however go into any of the terminals to disrupt activities.

Further findings show that the terminals were not as busy as usual, indicating that the strike affecting movement of passengers in and out of the airports.

Workers of government agencies were not left out, as the unions in their usual manner marched them out to be part of the industrial action.

Responding to the action, Yakubu Dati, general manager, corporate communication, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), said FAAN was committed to ensuring that they give the services they were been paid for.

“We are out to ensure that we continue with our operations, and we also want to thank the security agencies who have ensured that the operations at the airports across the country are going on as scheduled and the staff are also turning up to ensure that they provide the service that we are been paid for,” Dati said.

Dati assured passengers that the airports were all open, as “we are all operating and our staff are already at their desks to ensure that we provide the services that we are paid for, and we will continue to do so within our capacity.”