Alleged safety breach: Unions accuse NSA, NCAA of shielding Air Peace

Aviation workers’ unions have accused the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) of compromising the investigation into an alleged safety and security breach involving Air Peace at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.

The unions alleged that attention had been diverted from the incident of August 11, 2026, to demands by airline operators for the abolition of the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge and Cargo Sales Charge.

The National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), AUPCTRE, National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP) made the allegations on Friday during a joint briefing with aviation correspondents at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.

Speaking on behalf of the unions, the General Secretary of ANAP, Ocheme Aba, said the reported move to abolish the statutory charges could weaken aviation agencies’ financial capacity and undermine safety oversight, air navigation services and accident investigations.
The unions expressed concern over information that the NSA had convened a meeting of the Nigerian Intelligence Community to discuss the possible abolition of the charges, allegedly following demands by the Airline Operators of Nigeria.

They described the development as an attempt to turn a national security incident into an avenue for advancing the private interests of airline operators.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we are greatly perturbed to learn that the office of the National Security Adviser has now turned this grave national security breach by Air Peace into child play by converting the urgent need to remedy the breach into the pursuit of the private interest of airlines,” Aba said.

He added, “Information available to us indicate that the National Security Adviser has called a meeting of the Nigerian Intelligence Community to discuss the abrogation of the Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) and Cargo Sales Charge (CSC) on the ground that their collection constitutes a threat to national security.”

The unions said the meeting was allegedly convened in response to the airline operators’ demand, which they claimed was being presented as a solution to further security breaches at Nigerian airports.
Aba questioned the connection between the statutory charges and the alleged incident involving Air Peace.
“It is indeed curious that the National Security Adviser is able to find a nexus between the TSC and CSC collected from passengers without complain and a violent protest by an airline over lawful picketing carried out against it,” he said.

He further criticised the reported involvement of the intelligence community, saying, “As a matter of fact, that such a matter could occupy the attention of the highly revered Nigerian Intelligence Community does grave assault on our collective sensibilities and portrays the intelligence as a tool in aid of private interests.”

The unions recalled that they embarked on industrial action against Air Peace on August 11 over the airline’s alleged refusal to allow its employees to join trade unions and its failure to remit funds collected from passengers on behalf of aviation agencies.
The General Secretary of ATSSSAN, Frances Akinjole, said the intervention of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, led to the suspension of the industrial action on the first day of picketing.

Akinjole said the intervention also resulted in the discontinuation of similar planned actions against other affected airlines.
He, however, regretted that Air Peace reported the unions to the Inspector-General of Police and instituted legal proceedings against them at the National Industrial Court, despite the suspension of the picketing.

He said investigations by the Nigeria Police Force and the NCAA were also ongoing, adding that the unions had continued to cooperate with the relevant institutions in the hope that the probes would strengthen aviation safety, national security and industrial relations.

The Deputy General Secretary of ATSSSAN, Olayinka Abioye, explained that the TSC and CSC were statutory charges paid by passengers and collected by airlines on behalf of the Federal Government for remittance to the NCAA and distribution among aviation agencies.

He listed the beneficiaries as the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, Nigerian Meteorological Agency, Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau and Nigerian College of Aviation Technology.

The unions warned that abolishing the charges without an alternative funding arrangement could jeopardise the operations of key aviation institutions and weaken safety regulation.