The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has stepped in to prevent a looming industrial action by aviation unions over debts owed by airlines in respect of the Ticket Sales Charge (TSC).

The Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association (ATSSAN) and the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) had issued a three-day strike notice on August 7, threatening industrial action against airlines they accused of owing the aviation regulator.

The unions’ demands also include what they described as restrictions on workers’ freedom to join trade unions of their choice.

However, the NCAA said its Director-General, Capt. Chris Najomo, was engaging the unions and airlines to prevent any disruption to flight operations.

The NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, said the regulator had already reached an agreement with indebted airlines for the repayment of outstanding liabilities through instalments.

According to him, the airlines had made an initial payment of 10 per cent of their outstanding old debts and agreed to a repayment schedule for the balance.

Achimugu said Najomo and the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, had intervened when the unions attempted to picket indebted airlines the previous week.

He explained that the NCAA, as the industry regulator, could not rely on organised labour to recover debts from airlines and had its own mechanisms for dealing with outstanding payments.

“I was personally there when the Director General told the unions that the airlines have started paying, so they should suspend the planned picketing,” he said.

Achimugu also disclosed that airlines had received a 30 per cent waiver on their accumulated debts, explaining that the concession was part of the regulator’s effort to prevent financial pressures from driving operators out of business.

He said the NCAA’s policy was to regulate airlines without pushing them out of business, adding that indebted operators were expected to honour the repayment arrangements.

The unions had alleged that some airlines were also preventing their employees from freely joining trade unions.

In their joint statement, ATSSAN and NUATE demanded that affected airlines formally communicate to their employees that they were free to join unions without fear of victimisation.

They also demanded the immediate remittance of funds owed aviation agencies to enable the implementation of conditions of service for their members.

Achimugu, however, questioned the suggestion that the unions should be used to recover regulatory debts and rejected claims that the NCAA was encouraging such action.

He also opposed reports that the unions intended to picket a particular airline as a warning to other operators, saying such an approach would be inappropriate unless there was a specific regulatory violation.

Meanwhile, checks showed that airlines continue to remit the current five per cent TSC, as well as applicable cargo and charter charges, to the NCAA despite outstanding historical debts.

Aero Contractors reportedly pays between N250 million and N400 million monthly, depending on passenger and cargo volumes, while United Nigeria Airlines remits about N600 million. Air Peace, the country’s largest airline operator, reportedly pays about N2 billion monthly to the regulator.

Some airlines have also reportedly negotiated additional discounts on their outstanding liabilities, although the NCAA said it would need to verify the details from its accounts.

The accumulated debt dates back to a period when a sharp increase in aviation fuel prices placed significant financial pressure on airlines amid the US-Iran conflict.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Aero Contractors, Capt. Ado Sanusi, criticised the use of labour unions as a means of recovering debts from airlines, describing the development as unacceptable.

Sanusi called for a broader reform of the aviation sector and renewed calls for a review of the five per cent TSC, which has been in existence for more than three decades.

He argued that Nigerian airlines were already burdened by multiple taxes and charges and cited concerns raised by the International Air Transport Association over the level of taxation in the Nigerian aviation industry.

“This is the first time labour is picketing airlines over debt owed the agencies which payment system has been agreed by both NCAA and the airlines,” Sanusi said.

He maintained that the NCAA had other regulatory and legal options for dealing with airlines that breach their obligations, including sanctions or referrals to relevant law-enforcement agencies where necessary.

Sanusi warned that continued pressure on airlines without addressing the underlying structural problems in the sector could worsen the financial difficulties facing operators and threaten the stability of the industry.