Strike: Airlines Cancel Scheduled Flights

As the nationwide strike by labour unions and civil society organisations enters its fourth day, local and international flights at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, have been cancelled.

The NLC, TUC and their affiliate unions embarked on strike on Monday to protest the removal of petrol subsidy by the Federal Government on January 1.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondents, who monitored activities at the airport on Wednesday, report that some airlines had placed notices cancelling scheduled flights.

However, few passengers were seen waiting at the International wing of the airport.

A notice by the KLM Station Manager, Mr. Joseph Osho, said that flight 577 to Amsterdam scheduled for Wednesday had been cancelled as a result of the nationwide strike.

The British Airways flight to London scheduled for 10 a.m. on Wednesday was also cancelled.

Some scheduled passengers for the British Airways flight to London told NAN that there was no notice about the cancellation of the flight.

One of the passengers, Mrs. Varnessa Okwell, told NAN that she arrived at the airport as early as 7 a.m. for the 10 a.m. flight to London.

She said that at the time of her arrival, there was no sign of any flight and no information from the British Airways authorities.

“We are here to travel with British Airways for the 10 a.m flight to London, but it is already 11 a.m. and there is no information about the flight,” Okwell said.

Another passenger on Arik Airways flight to London scheduled for 11.55 a.m., Mr David Enibe, said that an official of the airline informed passengers orally of the cancellation of the flight.

“The official asked us to wait to see if there will be a possibility of the flight taking off later in the day,” he said.

He urged the Federal Government and labour to dialogue to resolve the crisis.

Mr. Bassey Etim, a civil servant from Calabar, said he escorted his uncle to board the British Airways flight to London, but they were both stranded at the airport due to the cancellation of flights.

“We came all the way from Calabar and we are stranded as there are no flights. We have been asked to wait till 8 p.m. to see if there will be a flight and we have exhausted all the money we have,” he said.

Immigration officials at the airport, who preferred anonymity, said that there was nothing they could do until the strike was called off.

“Our duty is to check in passengers whenever the strike is called off. Immigration officers are not on strike because of the nature of our job,” they said.

NAN correspondents report that officials of the British Airways were not available for comments as the office located within the airport was locked.

Meanwhile, all domestic flights from the local wing of the airport had been moved to the international terminal due to renovation work embarked upon by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

A notice by FAAN said, “All domestic flight operations have been moved to the international terminal”. An official of the organisation said the renovation work started on January 3.

The official, who spoke to NAN on condition of anonymity, said that security personnel and officials of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency were manning the Control Tower at the international wing of the airport.

At the Port Harcourt International Airport, local flights had been cancelled, while international flights were operational.

Mr. Henry Anyanwu, Manager of the airport, told NAN in Port Harcourt that since the strike began, six international flights had operated from the airport.

The airlines that used the airport for international flight are Air France and Lufthansa, he said.

Anyanwu said that management staff of the airport were in-charge of operations and other activities.

In Plateau, NAN correspondents who visited the Yakubu Gowon Airport at Barkin Ladi, found that there was a lull in activities as many of the workers were not at their duty posts.

The Airport Manager, Mr .Nehemiah Auta, could not be reached for comments, but a senior official , who craved anonymity, said commercial activities had been suspended.

“For now, only special cases will be attended to, like the visit of the Chief of Defense Staff, Air Chief Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin on Monday. Otherwise we are not working for now,” the source said.

Meanwhile, the domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, remained a ghost town on Wednesday, the third day of the nationwide strike against the removal of petrol subsidy.

NAN correspondents, who visited the domestic wing, report that the airport was silent as the noise of flights either about to land or take off was conspicuously absent.

NAN also reports that aircraft were neatly parked on the tarmac in front of the MMA2.

Besides the few private vehicles and commercial motorcycles plying the road linking the local airport with the international airport, NAN observed that only those jogging for fitness were present.

Similarly, some of the bus stops and flower sheds were occupied by the destitute in the absence of commuters to use them.

Similarly, NAN reports that the entrance and exit gates into the MMA2 were opened but manned by policemen and airport security officers who screened the few individuals and motorists passing through gates.

The same scenario was observed at the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) where many airport car hire service drivers had relocated for lack of patronage airport car park.