Domestic airlines under the umbrella of the Airline Operators of Nigeria have threatened to shut down operations nationwide if unions again disrupt the operations of any member airline, following the picketing of Air Peace flights in Lagos and Abuja on August 11.
The warning was contained in a communiqué issued after the AON General Meeting in Abuja and made available to journalists on Monday, in which airline operators condemned what they described as “violent disruptive action” by aviation unions and other groups.
The association said the August 11 action brought operations at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminals 1 and 2 in Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, “to a screeching halt,” after union members allegedly blocked access to Air Peace departure terminals, check-in counters, offices and workstations.
Recall that the union and the airlines have been at loggerheads over the refusal of airlines to pay statutory funds to government agencies, a development the unions say is capable of threatening safety. The union also accused the airlines of stopping workers from unionising, a development the workers described as unacceptable.
According to the AON, the disruption was more than an industrial dispute because it affected passengers, airline workers and airport security. The association further said there were “recorded cases” of violence against airline staff, with some workers allegedly sustaining bodily injuries while attempting to perform their duties.
For passengers, the consequences were immediate. Flights were cancelled or disrupted, travellers were stranded, and airlines were forced to rebook passengers, arrange accommodation and issue refunds.
The AON said Air Peace alone had more than 70 flights affected, with estimated losses exceeding N2bn. More than 30 United Nigeria Airlines flights were also affected, impacting about 13,000 passengers.
The association said airlines incurred additional costs from repositioning crew, rescheduling aircraft and other recovery measures at a time when operators were already grappling with high aviation fuel prices and foreign-exchange-linked maintenance expenses.
However, the AON said its members had reached a collective position that any repeat of the incident would trigger an industry-wide shutdown.
“To this end therefore, the AON would like to state in unequivocal terms that should the events of August 11, 2026, repeat themselves again against any domestic airline, the entire AON member airlines will immediately shut down operations,” the communiqué stated.
The association also described the incident as a serious security concern, arguing that the ease with which access to airline terminals was blocked exposed weaknesses in airport security arrangements. It cited the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s Annex 17 definition of unlawful interference and said the August incident had “serious immediate and future local and global implications for the aviation sector in Nigeria.”
Also speaking on the reasons for disruptions and cancellations, the airline operators said delays were “never in the interest of any airline; carriers suffer both financial and reputational consequences when passengers are kept waiting or flights are cancelled.”
The operators blamed a combination of factors, including “bad weather, congested aircraft parking areas at Lagos and Abuja airports, limited operating hours at some secondary airports, VIP movements, bird strikes, foreign object damage, fuel shortages, inefficient air traffic flow and inadequate airport infrastructure.”
Jet A1 fuel, the association said, now costs above N2,500 per litre, while supply, according to them, remains unreliable at some secondary airports.
While welcoming the ongoing reconstruction of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, the AON also urged authorities to involve airlines early in the design process, arguing that operators should help identify potential flaws affecting passenger and aircraft movement.
