NCAA Urges Aviation Unions to Suspend Strike, Await Keyamo’s Return

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has appealed to aviation unions to suspend their ongoing industrial action and exercise restraint as efforts continue to resolve the dispute.

In a statement, the NCAA said it was aware of the impact of the industrial action on passengers and other stakeholders in the aviation sector.

The authority urged the unions to “sheathe their swords” pending the return of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, who it said had been actively working towards resolving the issues.

According to the NCAA, the matter was expected to be addressed at a meeting convened by the minister last week, but the meeting could not take place after airline operators failed to honour the invitation.

The NCAA assured passengers that flight safety remains uncompromised, stressing that it continues to carry out its statutory safety oversight responsibilities.

The authority called on all parties to embrace dialogue and cooperation, expressing confidence that the dispute would be resolved shortly and normal flight operations restored as soon as practicable.

“We appeal to all parties to embrace dialogue and cooperation. We are confident that the matter will be resolved shortly and normal flight operations will resume as soon as practicable,” the statement signed by the NCAA Director-General, Captain Chris Ona Najomo, said.

The NCAA also apologised to passengers for the inconvenience caused by the industrial action and thanked them for their patience and understanding.