Air passengers were stranded, Monday, at the domestic wing of the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos, following the two-day strike embarked upon by the Nigerian aviation workers.
The aviation workers are striking over deplorable working conditions and low wages.
Domestic flights were disrupted as aviation employees in Lagos blocked roads to the local airport.
The strike most likely has made an already bad situation worse in a sector that is regularly faced with aviation fuel shortages , where even the international airlines are finding it difficult to break even and repatriate funds owing to dollar shortages.
Airline operators are hoping for a quick resolution of the problem so they can get back to business.
Reuters reports that United Nigeria said passengers in and out of the commercial capital of Lagos would be disrupted but hoped for a quick resolution to the impasse.
Security personnel kept a safe distance in Lagos as chanting workers blocked roads to the domestic terminal, creating a traffic jam and forcing passengers to finish their journey on foot. International flights were not affected.
“It is time for us to release aviation workers from the bondage of this imperialist aviation management that we have been having for years,” Abdulrasaq Saidu, secretary general of the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals, said.
The Ministry of Aviation said it was trying to meet the workers’ demands and urged them to return to work, adding the strike would “affect flight schedules, lead to economic losses and negatively impact on our rating globally.”
Unions for pilots, engineers, control tower operators and other airport workers say they are protesting against unpaid wages, government failure to implement an industry minimum wage and plans to demolish the Lagos offices of some aviation agencies to allow for expansion of the airport.
The workers have threatened an indefinite strike later this month if their grievances are not addressed.
With reports from Reuters