The National Union of Air Transport Employees, NUATE, says the takeover of Arik airline by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON, has worsened the crisis facing the airline.
Olayinka Abioye, General Secretary of NUATE, made this known to PREMIUM TIMES in an exclusive interview during the shutdown of the airline’s headquarters at the Lagos airport on Thursday.
Aviation unions had in the early hours of Thursday shut down the operations of Arik Air. The unions, which include NUATE, Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria and the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers, on Wednesday threatened to ground the airline following Arik management’s failure to reinstate its sacked members
The protesters also disclosed that the shutdown was because of the airline’s breach of the rights of workers and its indebtedness to aviation parastatals.
According to the protesters, Arik Air’s bad debt had crippled the operational capacities of the parastatals.
