Disputes between aviation workers, staff of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) have grounded the Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano.
This has led to disruption of flights scheduled to leave Kano on Monday morning. The Air Traffic Controllers have suspended their operations which affected taking-off of flights and landing.
AZMAN and Max Air flights scheduled for Abuja and Lagos were not allowed to leave, and that passengers were asked to disembark after boarding their planes as the Air Traffic Controllers stopped operations.
Investigation showed that the dispute between the two bodies of the airport started after the Nigerian Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) shut down air navigation services for flights in and out of the Airport, over power supply to NAMA facilities and staff accommodations that were disconnected.
On Friday, FAAN disconnected power supply to all NAMA staff accommodations due to non-payment of electricity bills.
Sources say that very important personalities stranded at the airport, including some federal lawmakers, deputy governors and others, were already intervening to sort out the differences so as to restore flights operation.
After some hours, the issue was temporarily resolved as Max Air and Azman Air flights took off from the airport.
The development comes a week after aviation industry unions concluded plans to protest at all airports in the country following what they referred to as the “obnoxious” provisions in the newly signed Civil Aviation Act (CAA) which gives the Minister of Aviation express power to prohibit trade union activities.
President Muhammadu Buhari had last week signed the new Civil Aviation Act into law out of the six aviation Bills recently passed by the National Assembly.
The unions, including the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP), National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) at a joint conference at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos gave a 14-day ultimatum from Monday to correct the anomaly or face a total shut down of the sector.
Briefing newsmen earlier, General Secretary of NUATE, Comrade Ocheme Aba said that the issue of proscribing union activities did not come up during the public hearings organised by the Joint National Assembly committees on Aviation before the Bills were passed.