Air transport workers threaten strike over welfare

The union demands that all pending issues on workers’ welfare be resolved before July 5.

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The Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, ATSSSAN, on Sunday threatened to call out its members for strike if the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, failed to meet its demands.

The national president of ATSSSAN, Benjamin Okewu, issued the threat in a statement in Lagos.
Mr. Okewu said the union demands that all pending issues on workers’ welfare before the NCAA management should be resolved before July 5.

“It was gathered that so many outstanding employees’ files on welfare matters, allowances, travel claims, have been piled up on the desk of the Director-General of NCAA, Engr. Benedict Adeyileka, and unattended to since in the last 10 to 12 months,” he said.

He expressed the union’s displeasure with the way the aviation agencies were handling the 2014 staff training.

The ATSSSAN boss also demanded that the union should be furnished with the staff training proposals by all agencies in the aviation sector.

The agencies are NCAA, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Accident Investigation Bureau, AIB, and the Nigeria College of Aviation Technology.

Mr. Okewu argued that human capacity development in the sector could not be ignored due to the expanding investment prospects and safety challenges in the industry worldwide.

He, however, called for the full implementation of the approved conditions of service for workers in the industry.

He said the union would move its national secretariat temporarily to the NCAA headquarters until the issues of staff welfare were resolved.

(NAN)

Aviation expert warns Nigeria to be wary of airfare slash

The aviation expert urged the airlines to explore professional recommendations in line with the International Air Transport Association.

The Sabre Travel Network, STN, an aviation service provider, on Thursday warned the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, to be wary of the recent reduction in airfares by some domestic airlines.

The President of STN, West Africa, Gbenga Olowo, said in Lagos that passengers were more interested in their safety rather than airfare slashes.

Airfares in the sector have dropped in the last few months by 60 per cent in the local scene as a result of new entrants into the sub-sector.

An hour flight between Lagos and Abuja now goes as low as N10, 656 and N18, 000, depending on the time of booking and the airline a passenger is purchasing the ticket from.

Earlier in the previous week, Dana Air announced a starting price of N9, 000 on all its routes, while other airlines like Med-View, Aero and FirstNation have followed suit.

Mr. Olowo said he was surprised at the sudden crash of airfare.

“I read with shock that a one hour tariff will be selling for between N7, 000 and N15, 000 due to the emergence of new airlines and competition in the market.

“Beyond the misconception of being capitalist, this should worry Nigerians and the regulator.

“With authority, I submit that this is not a sensible market penetration strategy, but a confirmation of cash flow problem and survival need.

“A one hour flight in 1994 was 100 dollars, how could it come cheaper 20 years after given all environmental and market considerations?” Olowo said.

He charged the airlines to explore professional recommendations in line with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in respect of the airfares.

(NAN)

'Missing Airplane Not In Nigeria' - NAMA Reveals

ollowing the disappearance of a four-seater plane on Monday night, the  after taking off from Kano airport, en-route to Libreville, Gabon, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has said the plane did not get missing in Nigerian airspace.

According to the Managing Director of NAMA, Mr Ibrahim Abdulsalam, the plane had already been officially handed over to the Cameroonian authorities by the Air Traffic Controllers in Kano airport, Nigerian Tribune reports.

Abdulsalam explained that NAMA could not partake in the search for the missing plane as it did not get missing within Nigerian airspace.

“It did not occur within the Nigerian airspace. So, there is nothing we can do about it. We handed over the aircraft to the Cameroonian airspace,” he said.

The plane, owned by the US company Global Aviation, had taken off from Kano in northern Nigeria at 6.00p.m on Monday en route Libreville in Gabon, where it was scheduled to arrive at 11.00p.m, after a stopover in Douala, Cameroon but the plane which had only an American pilot on board, did not make it to Douala.

Related: Gabon-Bound Plane Flying From Nigeria Goes Missing

So far, the search and rescue mission for the missing plane has not yielded any positive result.

It would be recalled that a Malaysian plane carrying 239 people to China had gone missing in March and till date it is yet to be found.

Sources: Naij.com news, Punch Nigeria, Nigerian Tribune