Dr Allen Onyema, Chairman and CEO of Air Peace Limited, has warned aviation unions against taking actions that could disrupt airline operations over debts owed to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). Speaking at a book launch in Lagos, Onyema dismissed union threats to picket airlines as an "aberration" with no global precedent, stressing that airlines conduct business solely with the NCAA, not labour unions. He revealed that Air Peace recorded 56 bird strikes in one year, leading to costly engine repairs and fleet damage, while also highlighting systemic infrastructure failures at domestic airports.
Onyema attributed the fragility of Nigerian airlines to extreme operating conditions, including borrowing rates of 30 to 33 percent, aviation fuel costs rising from N900 to N3,500 per litre during the US-Iran war, and insurance premiums six times the global average. He noted that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has identified Nigeria as one of the most difficult places to run an airline, second only to Afghanistan. Despite agreements between airlines and the NCAA to liquidate accumulated debts, union interference remains a threat, he said. Onyema questioned why unions are intervening when operators are complying with NCAA directives, warning that intimidation tactics would not be tolerated.
A major airline operator says unions have no role in debt disputes between carriers and the NCAA, yet unions continue to threaten industrial action over obligations tied to past fuel crises. If airlines are contractually bound only to the NCAA, then union involvement in recovery efforts creates a legal and operational contradiction that risks safety and financial stability. This tension exposes a deeper disconnect in how aviation debts are managed and enforced in Nigeria.
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