JUST IN: Air Peace resumes flights following airport picketing

Air Peace has resumed its flight operations following disruptions caused by aviation unions picketing its facilities across major stations in Nigeria. The airline confirmed that flights were operating on Tuesday, despite the union actions that significantly impacted its services.

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We are operating flights already. Flights will operate today irrespective of the situation.

The airline's spokesperson, Efe Whiskey, stated that the picketing occurred in Lagos, Enugu, and Abuja, which are key hubs for Air Peace. He described the action as grounding all operations at these critical locations. Whiskey alleged that the unions targeted Air Peace because its employees had refused to join the unions. He also mentioned a dispute over a 5% TSC payment, which Air Peace claims to have already settled with the regulatory body, the NCAA.

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The unions picketed our operations across board. Lagos, Enugu, Abuja. However, at some other stations, they were not able to go. Stopping those places, which are our hubs, those places where we do night stops. Lagos being a major hub. So they basically grounded all our operations.

Air Peace indicated that it had anticipated the possibility of such action, referencing previous concerns raised by its chairman about planned picketing. The airline questioned why it was singled out when unions had announced intentions to picket all Nigerian airlines. Whiskey pointed out that other carriers, including Ibom Air and Aero, operated flights normally on Tuesday, suggesting Air Peace was unfairly targeted.

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Because they wanted to picket us because we are not joining their union. They stated that we are owing them a 5% TSC. But we’ve already paid that to the regulatory body, which is NCAA. So we don’t even know why they are picketing us.

The airline insists it has been making payments to the unions and questions the basis for the disruption. Air Peace staff had reportedly held a peaceful protest against joining the unions, which the airline claims was later disrupted. The core of the dispute appears to be the employees' resistance to union membership.

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These people stated that they were going to picket all Nigerian airlines. However, the likes of Ibom Air, Enugu Air, even Aero, operated flights today. And you solely picked on only Air peace disrupting flights, first flight out of Lagos, Abuja, and Enugu.