Airlines struggle to clear backlog after strike

• Published On: 09 June 2024 at 20:15

Nigerian airlines are facing operational issues as they try to accommodate passengers and clear the backlog produced by the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress' strike to lobby for the implementation of a new national minimum wage.

Although the strike was called off on Monday, it caused disruptions in flight schedules and logistical challenges for several carriers.

George Uriesi, Chief Operating Officer of Ibom Air, told Sunday NigerianWatch about the difficulties in managing the issue without passing on expenses to clients.

"You cannot raise your fares because you lost money due to the strike; you must accept your losses. You can't just add aircraft overnight. What you do is try to accommodate passengers for the next few days. That is what we've done.

"Our fleet is already at capacity in terms of flight schedule, therefore we tried to accommodate everybody. This further increases our losses because we don't have any seats to sell because we already have folks who have purchased tickets.

"As a result, individuals are unable to purchase tickets, and we are losing revenue at an increasing rate. He said that there is nothing to sell until the backlog is cleared.

United Nigeria Airlines is having similar challenges, with its Head of Corporate Communications, Achilleus Uchegbu, telling Sunday NigerianWatch in a phone interview that the airline has to make sacrifices for the better welfare of Nigerians.


"Loss is loss. These are sacrifices for the Growth of the organization and the benefit of Nigerians. Airlines are also involved in making sacrifices for the sake of Nigerians.

"Losses have been suffered. We will not raise fares because there was a strike. The system will not even enable us to do so because there was a declared strike, and many individuals modified their travel plans without waiting for the airlines to do so. But everyone is back to normal operations now," he said.

Adediran Adewale of Untamed Travels and Tours noted that the strike action damaged the entire aviation industry.

"I had a guest scheduled to travel that Monday when the strike began, but I was able to acquire a seat for the passenger on Wednesday. I don’t know if other people are facing other challenges. Because the passenger could not travel on Monday, we had to change the travel date, and that attracted a fine.