A staff member of Air Peace may face prosecution after allegedly driving and abandoning a bus on the Lagos airport runway during Tuesday’s picketing of the airline by aviation workers’ unions.
The National Union of Air Transport Employees, Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria and National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers, backed by the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress, began picketing Air Peace in the early hours of Tuesday.
The unions had earlier issued three stages of warning, threatening to picket airlines that failed to remit the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority.
They also accused some domestic airlines of making it difficult for their employees to freely join trade unions, alleging that workers were afraid to express interest in union membership because of possible discrimination or victimisation.
The unions described Tuesday’s action as a last resort, saying they had given the affected airlines several weeks to address their grievances.
The dispute also centres on the alleged non-remittance of the five per cent ticket sales charge meant to fund aviation agencies.
However, the industrial action took a different turn when a bus was allegedly driven onto the airside and abandoned during the picketing exercise.
A source at the airport, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told our correspondent that the driver of the bus drove into the airside and left the vehicle there in protest against the picketing.
The source said the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria subsequently towed the bus away to allow free movement within the airside.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, Michael Achimugu, confirmed the incident and said appropriate sanctions would be imposed on the driver once identified.
Achimugu said the authority had ordered that the driver be identified and arrested for possible prosecution.
He said, “During the enforcement of the picketing, a driver drove the large bus to the runway, parked and left the place.
“We have ordered that the driver in question be identified and arrested for onward prosecution. How can somebody block the runway? That is seriously uncalled for. We’ll investigate, and the necessary portions of the Act will be invoked.”
The NCAA spokesperson said the incident was unacceptable because of the safety implications of obstructing an airport runway.
However, Air Peace disputed the allegation, insisting that the vehicle did not block the runway.
The airline’s spokesperson, Efe Whiskey-Osifo, challenged the claim and asked for evidence that the bus had obstructed the runway.
“Show me your pictures. Do you know the runway better than I do? The bus did not block the runway. Do you know what a runway is?” she said.
The development occurred amid a wider industrial dispute between aviation unions and domestic airlines over workers’ unionisation rights and the payment of statutory charges to aviation authorities.
The picketing disrupted flight operations at airports in Lagos and Abuja, leaving passengers stranded as union members blocked access to some airline terminals.
The NCAA subsequently appealed to the unions and airlines to embrace dialogue and resolve the dispute.
The authority maintained that flight safety remained uncompromised and said it would continue to discharge its statutory oversight responsibilities while efforts were made to resolve the disagreement.
The dispute has also prompted some airlines to temporarily suspend or disrupt operations, citing the blockade of airport terminals and the need to protect passengers and crew.
The NCAA is expected to investigate the runway incident further and determine whether the driver will be prosecuted over the alleged obstruction.