Monday, September 28, 2026 - Domestic airlines under the umbrella of the Airline Operators of Nigeria have threatened to shut down operations nationwide if unions again disrupt the operations of any member airline, following the picketing of Air Peace flights in Lagos and Abuja on August 11.
The warning was contained in a communiqué issued after the
AON General Meeting in Abuja and made available to journalists on Monday, in
which airline operators condemned what they described as “violent disruptive
action” by aviation unions and other groups.
The association said the August 11 action brought operations
at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminals 1 and 2 in Lagos and the Nnamdi
Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, “to a screeching halt”, after union
members allegedly blocked access to Air Peace departure terminals, check-in
counters, offices and workstations.
Recall that the union and the airlines have been at
loggerheads over the refusal of airlines to pay statutory funds to government
agencies, a development the unions say is capable of threatening safety.
The union also accused the airlines of stopping workers from
unionising, a development the workers described as unacceptable.
According to the AON, the disruption was more than an
industrial dispute because it affected passengers, airline workers and airport
security.
The association further said there were “recorded cases” of
violence against airline staff, with some workers allegedly sustaining bodily
injuries while attempting to perform their duties.
For passengers, the consequences were immediate. Flights
were cancelled or disrupted, travellers were stranded, and airlines were forced
to rebook passengers, arrange accommodation and issue refunds.
The AON said Air Peace alone had more than 70 flights
affected, with estimated losses exceeding ₦2bn.
More than 30 United Nigeria Airlines flights were also affected, impacting
about 13,000 passengers.
The association said airlines incurred additional costs from
repositioning crew, rescheduling aircraft and other recovery measures at a time
when operators were already grappling with high aviation fuel prices and
foreign-exchange-linked maintenance expenses.
However, the AON said its members had reached a collective
position that any repeat of the incident would trigger an industry-wide
shutdown.
“To this end therefore, the AON would like to state in
unequivocal terms that should the events of August 11, 2026, repeat themselves
again against any domestic airline, the entire AON member airlines will
immediately shut down operations,” the communiqué stated.
The association also described the incident as a serious
security concern, arguing that the ease with which access to airline terminals
was blocked exposed weaknesses in airport security arrangements.
It cited the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s
Annex 17 definition of unlawful interference and said the August incident had
“serious immediate and future local and global implications for the aviation
sector in Nigeria.”
Also speaking on the reasons for disruptions and
cancellations, the airline operators said delays were “never in the interest of
any airline; carriers suffer both financial and reputational consequences when
passengers are kept waiting or flights are cancelled.”
The operators blamed a combination of factors, including
“bad weather, congested aircraft parking areas at Lagos and Abuja airports,
limited operating hours at some secondary airports, VIP movements, bird
strikes, foreign object damage, fuel shortages, inefficient air traffic flow
and inadequate airport infrastructure.”
Jet A1 fuel, the association said, now costs above ₦2,500 per litre, while supply,
according to them, remains unreliable at some secondary airports.
While welcoming the ongoing reconstruction of the Murtala
Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, the AON also urged authorities to
involve airlines early in the design process, arguing that operators should
help identify potential flaws affecting passenger and aircraft movement.
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