Benin airport today maintained full operations despite the strikes embarked upon by some aviation unions which grounded activities around the Muritala Muhammad Airport in Lagos.
Earlier today, aviation unions blocked the roads leading to the airport in Lagos, with air passengers seen trekking distances to catch up with their flights.
The aviation unions involved in the industrial dispute include the National Union of Air Transport Employee (NUATE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), as well as the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP).
Their demands include the approval and implementation of the condition of service (CoS), as agreed between them and the Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC), the office of the head of civil service of the federation, and other agencies.
The unions also are not pleased with the non-implementation of minimum wage consequential adjustments and arrears for the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMet) since 2019 and the planned demolition exercise of all the agency buildings in Lagos by the minister of aviation for an airport city project.
The Nigerian Observer visited Benin Airport earlier today for on-the-spot assessment of the likely impact of the strikes in Lagos.
Our findings showed that Benin Airport was not affected as the airport maintained its daily schedules.
Mabel Olufemi, DGM corporate affairs, Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) said there were no disruptions to the services offered by Benin Airport as all the expected morning arrivals and departures took place as scheduled.
She said: “As you can see when you came into the airport complex, there are no strikes here. Two flights came from Lagos and one from Abuja this morning. In the evening, there will be two flights from Abuja and one from Lagos.”
However, an interaction with some air passengers revealed that some missed their flights to Lagos while another airline rescheduled its flight initially meant to take off by 2pm to 6:15pm
“My flight was scheduled for 11:50am. We got a message from Green Africa that there could be flight disruption on account of the strike in Lagos. The airline left as initially scheduled without notifying us”, a Green Africa’s customer who wanted anonymity told the Nigerian Observer.
“The message we sent to our customers was to inform them about the goings-on in Lagos. We didn’t tell them not to come to the airport. So, some of them misinterpreted our message. But as a caring airline, the few passengers affected will be put on another flight to their destination,” Omolara Kehinde, Head, Brand and Marketing Green Africa, said.
Our findings also revealed that Air Peace rescheduled its flight which was initially billed for 2pm to 6:15pm this evening.
According to BusinessDay, normalcy has returned to Lagos airport as airport unions have vacated all the roads blocked in the morning.
