BREAKING: Airline Staff Issue One-Week Deadline to Carriers to Settle Outstanding TSA Dues

A looming industrial dispute threatens to disrupt Nigeria's aviation sector, as workers have given airline operators and other defaulting organisations a seven-day ultimatum to settle outstanding 5 per cent Ticket Sales Charges owed to aviation agencies, warning of nationwide picketing if the debt is not paid.

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The ultimatum, issued jointly by the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria and the National Union of Air Transport Employees, comes after an earlier 14-day notice, served on July 8, expired on July 23 without the affected operators complying with the demand.

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The 5 per cent Ticket Sales Charge is a statutory levy collected on every airline ticket sold in Nigeria, with the funds supposed to be remitted to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority and shared among other aviation agencies to meet their financial obligations.

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Although airline operators are responsible for deducting and remitting the charge, the Airline Operators of Nigeria had been collecting it on behalf of the authorities until they recently vowed to stop doing so.

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In a strongly worded notice, the unions expressed disappointment over the "willful non-compliance" of airlines and other TSC defaulters, warning that the failure to remit the statutory charges is starving critical aviation agencies of funds needed to sustain safe and efficient operations.

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The statement, signed by Frances Akinjole, General Secretary of ATSSSAN, and Odinaka Igbokwe, Deputy General Secretary of NUATE, partly reads, "Our earlier 14-day ultimatum has expired, and regrettably, willful non-compliance has been recorded.

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The statement further notes that the aviation agencies remain starved of the required funds to keep the skies safe, while the conditions of service of union members in the various agencies continue to be jeopardised due to the non-remittance of the Ticket Sales Charge.

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According to the workers, the prolonged withholding of statutory deductions has weakened the financial capacity of aviation agencies and negatively affected employees' welfare, creating a dangerous situation for the country's aviation industry.

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The unions warned that the demotivation of air transport workers poses a security and safety risk, stressing that the inability of agencies to access funds due to them could ultimately compromise the safety and security of Nigeria's airspace.

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Declaring that they could no longer remain passive, the unions announced a final seven-day notice to all defaulting airline operators and other indebted organisations, warning that failure to remit the debt will result in concrete actions being taken at their premises.

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The unions stated, "We can no longer helplessly fold our hands and allow the safety of our airspace to remain compromised, and we hereby issue a seven-day notice to every TSC defaulter to remit the total debt owed to the agencies.