Aviation Strike: Union leader promises total shutdown Tuesday, warns passengers to stay at home

The General Secretary Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees, Sikiru Waheed, has said the aviation industry will experience a total shutdown on Tuesday as the aviation union continues its strike.

The union leader disclosed this to journalists at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on Monday.

He said the second day of the ongoing strike would be more effective than the first day, adding that the Monday strike was a warning to the public and the government that they were serious about their demands.

He said, “Day two of the strike would be more effective than what you are seeing here now because we only have some leverage today to serve as a warning to other people that are travelling.

“People who need to travel tomorrow should please don’t book a flight for tomorrow because it is going to be a total shutdown, it is not going to be like today. By 5am we will be here to shut down everywhere.

“We are appealing to all those that want to travel that they should shove their journey for tomorrow because it may be disrupted. It is a warning for everyone in the public.”

Passengers were stranded at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, earlier on Monday as aviation workers embarked on a two-day warning strike across the country.

The strike follows a meeting called by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority which ended in a stalemate on Sunday.

The unions comprising the National Union of Air Transport Employees, Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria; the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers and the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals are demanding, among other things, that the planned demolition of aviation agencies’ headquarters in Lagos be halted.

PUNCH