Ahead of the June 21 reopening of some airports for resumption of domestic flights, the chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Aviation, Mr. Nnolim Nnaji has called on the federal government to release intervention fund to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, (FAAN), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), and Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB).
Nnaji said in a statement that the parastatals were cash-strapped following the three-month shutdown of airports and commercial activities as a result of the ravaging COVID-19.
He said the plea was necessary because aviation agencies depend on aeronautical charges as their major sources of revenue.
He said the revenue sources had been eroded while the all the agencies were already having difficulty to pay salaries due to the impact of the lockdown of the aviation sector.
He also said the release of the fund would ensure a smooth gradual restoration of air transport services as announced by the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19.
“The paucity of fund which has made the agencies unable to fulfill their obligations to the workers especially in the payment of salaries has created tension in the sector and the workers are threatening to embark on strike by next week just a couple of days to the date of the reopening of five airports for partial resumption of local flight operations.
“Four industrial unions in the sector: the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP) and the Amalgamated Unions of Public Corporations of Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCCSTRSE) have issued a notice of warning strike over the issue of salary and we must resolve this otherwise the planned opening of the airports will not materialise.
“I am aware that federal government has agreed that there is need to offer palliatives to the agencies but am talking of the timing. This money must be released now to enable them prepare adequately for the resumption of local flight operations which is just days away.
“The airports to be used must be disinfected, some of the front line workers especially security personnel manning the exits and the screening machines will need personal protective equipment, (PPE), you have to engage the health workers who will work with the airport security officials at exits to screen passengers and these processes require money.
“I need not emphasise further that aviation industry is the worst hit in this period of global lockdown occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic and that’s why every country is releasing a sizeable chunks of funds to revitalise the aviation industry. Various countries are doing so because they understand the pivotal role the sector plays in the stimulation of the economy.
“I am happy that federal government has realised the position of some of us in that regard and pledged to intervene.
“I also want to use this medium to appeal to the unions to shelve their planned strike while we keep pressing for the release of funds to the sector by the government,” he said.
