Scores of passengers are stranded at the Lagos International airport as staff of the Ground handling company, Nigeria Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) commenced their industrial action by midnight, Monday.
The industrial action was due to failure of the company’s management to address their call for review of salaries since June of last year.
NAHCO handles check-in, boarding and ramp services for some international airlines.
A notice of the strike action was said to have been sent by the Secretaries-General of the unions in the two prominent handling companies in the industry, NAHCO and the Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO). While SAHCO engaged the unions to sheath their sword, NAHCO did not call for dialogue.
Investigation further revealed that one of the foreign airlines it handles, Qatar from Doha landed the Lagos airport on Monday morning, and when there was no staff to cater to their flight, they returned to Doha with the passengers on board.
Reports say passengers in Nigeria waiting to board the same Qatar flight remain stranded at the airport.
Also affected by the strike are some of the domestic airlines usually handled by NAHCO.
Already, the domestic airlines have started issuing notices informing their passengers of possible delays and rescheduled flight time for Monday.
In a notice sent by the Secretaries-General, National Union of Transport Employees (NUATE) and the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), made available to the media, the strike will be indefinite until otherwise directed by the Secretaries of the unions.
RN