Passengers were stranded at airports in Lagos and Abuja on Tuesday morning after aviation labour unions grounded Air Peace operations over allegations that the airline had prevented some employees from joining trade unions and failed to remit ticket sales charges due to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.
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The industrial action, which began in the early hours of Tuesday, disrupted scheduled flights and left passengers uncertain about when operations would resume.
The picketing was carried out by the National Union of Air Transport Employees, the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria and the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers, with the backing of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress.
In Lagos, the protest reportedly began at about 5 a.m., with the Zulu Terminal gate placed under lock and key.
An Air Peace flight scheduled to depart Lagos at 6:30 a.m. was unable to take off, leaving passengers who had arrived early for the flight stranded at the airport.
Some affected travellers expressed frustration over the disruption and complained that they had received little information about when flights would resume.
One passenger said the delay had disrupted his schedule and that he could not determine when his flight would eventually depart, while another said she had arrived early for the 6:30 a.m. service but was left waiting without a clear indication of when operations would restart.
An Air Peace staff member confirmed that the disruption had occurred but declined to give details about the cause.
The unions had earlier issued a notice of picketing on August 4, warning that they were prepared to commence industrial action “at any time without further notice” if the outstanding issues were not resolved.
Explaining Tuesday’s action, the unions said they had exercised considerable restraint and given Air Peace several weeks to address their complaints through dialogue.
They accused the airline of preventing some employees from freely joining trade unions despite repeated efforts by labour organisations to secure recognition of the workers’ right to freedom of association.
According to the unions, the protest was partly intended to compel Air Peace to respect the right of its employees to organise and belong to unions of their choice.
The labour groups also accused the airline of failing to remit ticket sales charges allegedly owed to the NCAA, saying the issue had remained unresolved despite previous engagements with the carrier.
They maintained that the picketing became necessary after attempts to resolve the disputes through negotiation failed to produce a satisfactory outcome.
The unions said the industrial action was aimed at compelling Air Peace to respect workers’ rights, fulfil its financial obligations to the aviation regulator and address other outstanding grievances.
The protest affected movement and flight operations at the airports, particularly passengers booked on Air Peace services in Lagos and Abuja.
Efforts to reach Air Peace through its customer care line were reportedly unsuccessful at the time of filing, while the airline had not issued a detailed public response to the unions’ allegations.
The disruption comes against the backdrop of growing tension between domestic airlines and aviation unions over labour rights and statutory remittances, with union leaders insisting that workers must be allowed to exercise their constitutional and labour rights without interference.
The picketing is expected to continue to affect Air Peace flight schedules unless the airline and the unions reach an agreement on the disputed issues.
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