Aviation Unions Move Against Defaulting Airlines Over Ticket Sales Levies

The Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) have threatened to shut down the operations of airlines that fail to remit ticket sales charge to key agencies, warning that picketing will start “any time from now” without any further notice.

Aviation unions announced this in a statement on Tuesday after a 7-day ultimatum expired on Monday, August 3.

The ultimatum came after a previous 14-day notice served on defaulting airlines for failing to remit the statutory 5% levy levied on passengers on behalf of aviation agencies.

In a joint statement signed by the General Secretary of ATSSSAN, Comrade Frances Akinjole and Deputy General Secretary of NUATE, Comrade Odinaka Igbokwe, the unions reiterated that the controversial ticket sales charge was meant for the smooth running of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet).

“Because they are adamant to yield to our calls: It has become crystal clear that these airlines that collected this money from the passengers on behalf the aviation agencies have decided to siphon the fund to the detriment of our collective safety and well-being,” the notice partly reads.

The unions stated that “the pilfering airlines are not fit to remain in our sky being serviced by genuine and patriotic efforts of other sincerely responsible operators in the industry.”

The unions said they were acting to protect safety and workers welfare and said they “ have decided to stop the operations of the cancerous airlines in our airports anytime from now without further notice.”

The notice was sent to the media, all defaulting airlines, Nigerian police divisions at all Nigerian airports, Department of State Services (DSS) and the general public.

The ticket sales charge is a statutory fee paid by passengers and collected by airlines, and is expected to be remitted to aviation agencies to fund safety, navigation, training and regulatory services.