Air Peace Alleges Union Defiance of Court Order, Reports N2bn Picketing Loss

Air Peace has accused aviation unions of breaching a subsisting Federal High Court injunction following Tuesday’s industrial action which turned violent, leaving a female employe bleeding and costing the carrier more than N2 billion in damages.

The airline’s Chief Operating Officer, Oluwatoyin Olajide, who spoke at a media parley Wednesday in Lagos, said the disruption of August 11, 2026 was an act of intimidation against Air Peace staff and passengers, and a “flagrant disrespect” of a perpetual court order that unions were legally bound to obey.

Olajide told aviation reporters that the picketing was against a judgment obtained on April 26, 2024 by Air Peace staff against the Nigeria Labor Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC), the National Union of Air Transport Employes (NUATE), the Inspector-General of Police and other unions.
That judgment, she said, had ruled that it was unlawful and unconstitutional for the unions to force Air Peace employes against their will to be members of the union. She said the court also granted a perpetual injunction restraining the unions from harassing Air Peace staff at their workplace or anywhere else and ordered the police nationwide to enforce compliance.

What happened was a flagrant disrespect and disregard for existing laws and the subsisting judgment of the Federal High Court, and the conduct also breached ICAO and Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (NCAR), Olajide said.

“The aviation unions in Nigeria have listed two major reasons why decided to picket airlines. First, the airlines’ indebtedness to the NCAA for 5% Ticket Sales Charge (TSC).

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“Secondly, non-unionization of the employes of airlines in Nigeria. The Director General, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, has publicly stated that the airlines, and not Air Peace alone, are complying with the directives of the NCAA on the applicable payment on the 5% TSC.

“This goes to the heart of the question why Air Peace was singled out for violent and disruptive picketing when the issue affects the entire industry. Unionization Over 98% of Nigerian airlines have no unions. The staff of Air Peace have made it abundantly clear that they do not want to form any union in Air Peace. They have a right to do that . It is constitutional . Air Peace didn’t stop them. They chose to go that way. So why this violence visited on Air Peace?
“It is quite disturbing and curious that the same union members were seen in the videos urging passengers and the flying public not to be flying Air Peace again but the other airlines, the same other airlines that are owing debts to NCAA and the same airlines that are also not Unionized! This is something the Federal Government has to investigate.

“Yesterday some of our employes were physically attacked while peacefully exercising that choice, including a female employe who was left bleeding and bruised. We ask: how do you defend workers’ rights by violently attacking workers exercising their own constitutional rights?

The incident also raises serious questions about airport security. How did they get in and mess up a tightly controlled airport? Airports are sensitive national assets, and such violence should never be tolerated with impunity. The incident has also raised concerns among our international partners and aircraft lessors and begs the question of confidence in Nigeria’s aviation business environment.”

Olajide said the disruption on Tuesday was for more than N2 billion, thousands of passengers affected. She said the incident had also raised alarm among the airline’s international partners and aircraft lessors, potentially eroding confidence in Nigeria’s aviation business environment.

“Disruption has led to huge financial damage to Air Peace estimated at over N2 billion while thousands of passengers had their journeys disrupted,” she said. “Just as our passengers have constitutional rights, including the right to travel free from unlawful interference.

Olajide asked how the protesters were able to breach a supposedly secure airport environment to cause disruption, describing airports as “sensitive national assets” that must not be left exposed to such impunity.

Olajide said Air Peace had video evidence to identify perpetrators of the violence and disruption, and urged the Federal Government, security agencies, airport authorities and aviation regulators to carry out an independent investigation.