Aviation unions under the aegis of Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, the National Union of Air Transport Employees and the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers on Thursday night called off their strike action against Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited.
It was gathered that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and other security agencies met with the unions and the BASL management on Thursday night and an agreement was reached for the firm, which is the operator of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two, to place the sacked workers on whose behalf the strike was called, on redundancy while they negotiate their benefits, among other demands.
In a statement signed by its Media and Communications Manager, Kingsley Ezenwa, the airline said it had lost about N100m due to the crisis.
Ezenwa stated, “We wish to sincerely apologise to our teeming guests, who missed their flights as a result of the dispute between aviation unions and Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited, operators of the Murtala Muhammed Airport 2. While operating our first flight out of Lagos from the MMA2, we made alternative arrangements and moved our operations temporarily to the General Aviation Terminal. “Our worst fear, however, is if the terminal will be able to process the number of passengers when there is a coincidence in flight schedule with over eight airlines having to operate from the General Aviation Terminal at the moment. “For now, we have lost over N100m to the ongoing action and losing such money in an industry where airlines are still grappling with a myriad of challenges is unacceptable and disappointing to say the least. We do not know how the situation will be in the coming days and we might have no other option than to downsize if the action stretches for too long.”
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