Arik Air flights from Lagos and Abuja Airports were disrupted this early morning following an industrial action embarked upon by its cabin crew.
Arik Air flights from Lagos and Abuja Airports were disrupted this early morning following an industrial action embarked upon by its cabin crew.
The strike embarked upon by the crew affected hundreds of passengers of the airline in Lagos, Abuja and other airports the airline fly into.
The cabin crew had at 6 am today down tools, alleging that the management owed them months of salaries.
A source close to the airline told our correspondent that all efforts by the cabin crew to ensure payment of their salaries were futile, stressing that the management had shown lackadaisical attitude to their plights.
An investigation by our correspondent indicated that apart from the cabin crew, the troubled carrier was also indebted to other technical and administrative staff.
At the Lagos Airport, some of the passengers of the airline who had planned to travel out of the city to different destinations were taken aback when the airline counters at the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) of the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos were shut.
Some of the passengers demanded the return of their airfares while others purchased tickets to travel with other available airlines at the terminal building.
When our correspondent contacted the spokesman of the airline, Mr. Banji Ola, he confirmed the development.
Ola, however, said that the issue had been resolved, but was silent on the cause of the strike.
Ola in a statement later sent in the afternoon said that the cabin crew embarked on a work-to-rule action, which led to the disruption of some of the airline’s flights out of Lagos.
He added that: “The dispute has been resolved amicably and our operations are now back to normal with flights leaving for their destinations with minimum delays. We assure our customers, especially those traveling during this festive season that we will do our best to ensure they get to their destinations safely."
“We sincerely apologize for the disruption in our operations. We see this unfortunate event as a temporary setback to the new Arik brand we have built in the last 10 months. Please be assured that measures have been put in place to ensure hitch free operations during the remaining period of the yuletide.”
It would be recalled that the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) had in February this year took over the operations of Arik over billions of naira debts owed financial institutions and other partners of the airline by the former management led by Sir. Arumemi Ikhide as the Chairman.
