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 over N2 billion in damages.
The airline’s Chief Operating Officer, Oluwatoyin Olajide, 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, speaking at a media parley on Wednesday in Lagos.
Olajide told aviation reporters that the picketing contravened 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 declared 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 directed the police nationwide to enforce compliance.
What happened was a flagrant disrespect and disregard of 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.
She said: “The aviation unions in Nigeria have listed two main reasons: why decided to picket airlines. First, the airlines’ indebtedness to the NCAA for 5% Ticket Sales Charge (TSC).
“Secondly, the absence of unionization of the employes of airlines in Nigeria. The Director General, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, has publicly stated that the airlines, and not just Air Peace, are complying with the directives of the NCAA on the applicable payment on the 5% TSC.
“This raises a fundamental question of why Air Peace was singled out for violent and disruptive picketing when the issue affects the entire industry. On unionization, over 98% of the Nigerian airlines have no unions. Air Peace staff have made it loud and 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 hold them back. They chose to go down that road. But why this violence 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! The Federal Government has to investigate this.
“Yesterday some of our employes were physically assaulted 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 screw up a tightly controlled airport? Airports are sensitive national assets and such violence should never be allowed to go unpunished. The incident has also raised concerns among our international partners and aircraft lessors and raises the question of confidence in the aviation business environment in Nigeria.”
Olajide said the disruption on Tuesday was for more than N2 billion, with thousands of passengers affected. She said the incident had also caused alarm among the airline’s international partners and aircraft lessors, potentially undermining confidence in Nigeria’s aviation business environment.
She said: “The disruption has resulted in significant financial damage to Air Peace estimated at over ₦2 billion, while thousands of passengers had their journeys disrupted. “Equally, our passengers have constitutional rights, including the right to travel free from unlawful interference.”
Olajide asked how protesters managed to get past a supposedly secure airport environment to cause disruption, describing airports as “sensitive national assets” that must not be exposed to such impunity.
Olajide said Air Peace had video evidence to identify the perpetrators of the violence and disruption, and urged the Federal Government, security agencies, airport authorities and aviation regulators to carry out an independent investigation.
