By Faheem Lawal
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has directed the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and other heads of aviation agencies to obtain a schedule of payments from airlines, spread over a reasonable timeframe, taking into account the airlines’ cost of operation and current economic realities.
The directive followed an emergency stakeholders’ meeting convened by the Minister on Thursday, 13th August, 2026, as a follow-up to earlier engagements with aviation unions concerning the temporary suspension of industrial action by the unions on Tuesday, 11th August, 2026.
In a press statement issued by the Permanent Secretary, Mahmud Kambari, the aim of the meeting was to resolve the issues in the sector.
The Minister directed the Directors of Finance and Accounts in all aviation agencies to meet with individual airlines to agree on a realistic repayment plan within one week.
On the issue of unionization, Keyamo said that workers have the right to decide for themselves and not through management, whether or not to belong to a union. He directed that the NCAA should immediately ensure that unions have direct access to workers of all airlines, solely to distribute forms for workers to indicate whether they intend to unionize or not. He warned that any airline found to obstruct this direct interface would be sanctioned by the NCAA.
He said: “The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and other heads of aviation agencies are to obtain a schedule of payments from the airlines, spread over a reasonable timeframe, taking into cognizance the airlines’ cost of operation and current economic realities.
”The Directors of Finance and Accounts in all aviation agencies are to meet with individual airlines to agree on a realistic repayment plan within one week. The minister recognizes the right of workers to decide whether or not to belong to a union and to make this decision for themselves, rather than through management.
” As a result, the NCAA should immediately ensure that the unions have direct access to the workers of ALL AIRLINES, solely to distribute forms for the workers to directly indicate whether they intend to unionize or not. Any airline that prevents this direct interface will be sanctioned by the NCAA.
”The parties resolved that a meeting shall be reconvened to review the progress and the state of the current situation after one month. The resolutions are the collective decisions of all parties.”
(The Sun)