The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on Tuesday said that it had suspended the operations of Air Nigeria owing to the strike embarked upon by its engineers and pilots over poor welfare package.
Sam Adurogboye, the NCAA’s General Manager (Public Relations), confirmed the suspension, while responding to enquiries on the current state and performance of the airline.
“The suspension of the operations of Air Nigeria is a routine action that will to enable us (NCAA) to scrutinise the airline before allowing it to start operations again having being on strike for days,’’ he said.
“It is a normal exercise,’’ Mr Adurogboye added.
Isaac Balami, the National President of the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), said he was aware of the suspension placed on Air Nigeria’s operations by NCAA.
“This will allow NCAA to carry out proper auditing of Air Nigeria, as the airline’s pilots and engineers have yet to receive their outstanding salaries.
“We called off the strike embarked upon by NAAPE members in Air Nigeria last week to allow the union and the management to resume negotiations on the contentious issues that led to the strike,’’ Mr Balami said.