Several international and flights across local and international airports Monday morning has been grounded as the workers of the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (NAHCO) embarked on a strike over salary increment.
NAHCO provides ground handling (cargo/ramp), passenger services and other services to several international airlines including Air France/KLM, Qatar, Ethiopian Airlines, Delta Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, and Turkish Air.
Several passengers at Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two, (MMA2) Lagos and Murtala Muhammed International Airport, (MMIA) were seen waiting outside the airport terminal for their flights which were either being delayed or rescheduled.
The development grounded both arrival and departure flight schedules, leaving travellers frustrated as no prior communication was sent to passengers on the strike.
In one of the message by Air Peace to it’s passengers, it explained that due to NAHCO strike, It’s flight schedule has changed.
“Your 6:15am flight, P47420, Lagos to Kano for today, 23rd January, 2023 will now depart at 10:00am. We honestly understand the resulting consequence and regret the effect of this unexpected time change on your travel plans. Please bear with us,” Air Peace stated.
“The strike has affected the operations of all airlines being handled by the company,” the airline said.
“While we monitor the situation and hope things return to normal soon, we regret the impact of the disruptions on your travel plans and plead for your understanding.”
A source at NAHCO who craved anonymity told BusinessDay that the management had met with the staff on Sunday over the proposed strike but assured that the situation will be addressed soon.
Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.
