THE Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) have issued a fresh seven-day ultimatum to airline operators to remit the outstanding five per cent Ticket Sale Charges (TSC) owed to aviation agencies.
News Point Nigeria reports that the ultimatum was conveyed in a joint letter signed by the General Secretary of ATSSSAN, Frances Akinjole, and the Deputy General Secretary of NUATE, Odinaka Igbokwe, and addressed to the Chairman of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2 (MMA2), Ikeja, Lagos.
The unions said the earlier 14-day ultimatum issued to the airline operators in July expired on July 23 without compliance from the defaulting airlines.
According to the unions, the continued failure of the affected airlines to remit the statutory Ticket Sale Charges has deprived aviation agencies of critical funds required to maintain the safety of Nigeria’s airspace while also affecting the welfare and conditions of service of workers in the sector.
“The Aviation Agencies remain starved of the required funds to keep our sky safe. At the same time, the ‘Conditions of Service’ of our members in the various agencies continue to be jeopardised because of the non-remittance of the TSC,” the notice read.
“This unnecessary demotivation factor to the air transport worker is a security and safety risk.”
The unions said they could no longer remain passive while the safety of the country’s airspace continued to be threatened by the non-remittance of the charges.
“We hereby issue a 7-Day Notice to every TSC defaulter to remit the total debt owed to the agencies; failure to do so will result in our Unions’ concrete actions at their various premises,” the unions warned.
News Point Nigeria recalls that the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) had earlier placed 11 domestic airline operators on a “no-pay-no-service” sanction list over outstanding financial obligations.
The NCAA had directed all its directorates to withhold services from the affected airlines pending the settlement of their financial liabilities.
However, the aviation regulator later suspended the enforcement of the “no-pay-no-service” directive against the airlines following a review of prevailing operational realities within the aviation sector.
The Director-General of the NCAA, Chris Najomo, explained that the temporary suspension was informed by the rising cost of aviation fuel and its impact on airline operations as well as the overall stability of the industry.
Najomo, however, clarified that the suspension of the enforcement action did not amount to a cancellation, waiver or forgiveness of the outstanding financial obligations owed by the affected airline operators, insisting that the debts remain payable.