Chairman House Representatives Committee on Aviation, Nnolim Nnaji has appealed to the Federal Government to immediately release the intervention fund it pledged to aviation agencies.
The release of the funds, he said will ensure a smooth and gradual restoration of air transport services as announced by the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19.
Nnaji said the appeal became necessary because agencies were already finding it difficult to pay salaries due to the impact of the three months lockdown of the sector.
According to him ,Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, (FAAN) , Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, (NAMA) and Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, (NCAA) rely solely on aeronautical charges as their major source of internally generated revenue, (IGR) which had been eroded by the closure of airports.
He also appealed to the Presidential Taskforce to support the sector with some items including personal protective equipments, (PPE) and sanitizers.
He said the paucity of fund has made the agencies unable to fulfill their obligations to their workers especially in the payment of salaries.
Such development, he said has created tension in the sector and the workers were threatening to embark on strike few days to the reopening of five airports for local flights.
He said : “As we speak, four industrial unions in the sector, the National Union of Air Transport Employees, (NUATE), the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, (ATSSSAN), Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals, (ANAP) and the Amalgamated Unions of Public Corporations of Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees, (AUPCCSTRSE) ha ve issued a notice of warning strike over the issue of salary and we must resolve this otherwise the planned opening of the airports will not materialise.” He stated.
