ARIK Air resumed flights yesterday 17 hours after its operations were grounded nationwide by three aviation unions.
The unions were National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN).
The resolution of the impasse followed intervention by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
The meeting, which was attended by representatives of the unions and owner of the airline, Sir Arumemi Ikhide, at NCAA headquarters, was chaired by the authority’s Director of Operations and Training, Captain Abdulahi Sidi.
It was agreed the airline should resume operations.
In a communique, it was resolved that Arik Air pay outstanding October and November salaries before the end of year.
The unions were asked to submit acknowledged copies of the letters forwarding membership forms of their prospective members to the NCAA and forward same to the management of Arik Air.
The communique reads: “A committee to review the circumstances of all laid off employees, made up of one member from each union and Arik was constituted to be inaugurated on January 10, 2017 .
“The Hawker fleet employees are exempted from the review.”
The workers were protesting alleged failure by the airline to allow its workers to join unions, and unpaid arrears of seven months.
Amid tight security, the unions barricaded entrance of the airline’s headquarters in Lagos, singing solidarity songs and displaying placards.
At the domestic wing, hundreds of passengers were stranded.
Conservative estimate puts Arik Air loss at N2.5 billion, which would have accrued from ticket sales on its over 100 daily domestic flights.
At the international wing, regional flights in the early hours were affected.
Thousands of passengers, at several airports nationwide, were affected by the protest.
The protesters displayed placards, some inscribed with: “Arik owes staff seven months’ salary”, “Defaults in taxes and other statutory deductions”, “Criminalises trade unionism and union membership: Sacking union executives at will”, “No salary, no flight Arik Air”, “Modern slavery/ apartheid in Arik Air: We say no to slavery”, “Every worker has the right to protection against unjustified dismissal in accordance with union laws and national laws and practices”, among others.
Some workers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they had been putting up with anti-labour practices for a long time and “this is just the climax”.
Addressing reporters, NUATE’s General Secretary Mr. Olayinka Abioye said: “This is a long awaited strike in the sense that several months back, we initiated industrial action against Arik management and they quickly invited us to a meeting to sort out some of these things. It seems the man that was asked to interface between management and labour failed.
“We felt we need to cry to higher authorities in Nigeria to save our souls. We cannot imagine that there would be an airline in the country’s aviation industry that would be owing workers for seven months and nobody cares about it…”
He added, among others, that those who joined the unions were being sacked without due regard to labour law.
“We are calling for their re-instatement and payment of staff salaries before we start any discussion with management.”
In a statement by the airline’s spokesman, Mr. Adebanji Ola, Arik Air said the union leadership earlier writte the management of Arik Air on their grievances and a meeting was scheduled between the two parties today.
“The unions, however, did not wait for the meeting or outcome of the meeting before embarking on such disruptive and strong-arm tactics against the airline.”
Tag: Arik Air
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Arik Air resumes flights after resolution of crisis
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Delayed Baggage: CPC summons Arik Air over alleged consumer rights abuse
Following complaints of alleged ill-treatment by passengers of recent London-Abuja Arik Air flights, the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has summoned the management of the airline to appear before it tomorrow, to provide facts relating to the allegations.
The summons, which was issued by the council on Wednesday, was directed at the airline’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Michael ArumemiIkhide, the Chief Operating Officer, Conor Prendergast and the Managing Director, Chris Ndulue, to appear before the Council.
According to the summons, the council disclosed that it received “complaints/information from the public and passengers on board Arik Air flights from London to Lagos between 2nd and 5th of this month alleging that the flights arrived Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos Nigeria, without the passengers’ luggage and without prior information.”
The council further stated that “the said passengers, many of whom had connecting flights to Cameroon, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Ibadan, could not continue their journeys as a result of the non-arrival of their luggage from London, while some passengers on the said flights could not have access to personal supplies, baby food or medication.
“Arik Air Ltd did not provide the passengers with temporary accommodation for transit; neither was there any customer service desk to assist the passengers in resolving their individual complaints,” it stated.
CPC disclosed that it had issued the summons in line with sections 8, 15 and 18 of its enabling Act.
It would be recalled that passengers of Turkish Airlines had a similar experience with the airline’s Flight 623 from Istanbul to Abuja on 25th and 31st of December 2015 and 9th of January 2016, which prompted the council to consistently demand a situation report on the incidents.
However, the refusal of Turkish Airlines to respond to the council’s summons and the ultimatum of the Attorney General of the Federation to the airline on the same request, has led to the criminal prosecution of the airline and two of its principal officers, Liker Ayci and RasakShobowale, the airline’s Board Chairman and Commercial Manager respectively, before Federal High Court 10 in Abuja over alleged criminal violation of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) Act.
The criminal prosecution of Turkish Airlines and its principal officers has been fixed for February 9, 2017 for hearing.
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Arik Air explains delay in London passengers’ baggage
Arik Air on Tuesday gave reasons why passengers’ baggage on its Lagos – Heathrow, London has been delayed for three days citing the use of a smaller aircraft on the route
The airline according to its spokesman, Adebanji Ola said the carrier had to deploy a Boeing 737-800 aircraft on the route because its Airbus 330 -200 aircraft allocated to the route is undergoing maintenance.
Ola said the airline was constrained in capacity from the wide body aircraft to a narrow body airplane for it the airline to leave passengers’ baggage behind.
In a statement Tuesday, the airline clarified:” Over the past three days, Arik Air has been using a smaller aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, to operate the Lagos-London Heathrow route due to maintenance on the wide-body A330-200 aircraft allocated on the route.
“One of the airline’s Airbus A330-200 aircraft had been hit by a handling company at John F Kennedy International Airport New York on Thursday, December 1, 2016 consequently triggering the B737-800 to be deployed on the Lagos-London route.
“In order to avoid cancellation of the Lagos-London Heathrow flights, an alternative B737-800 aircraft had to be allocated on the route to minimize the inconvenience to booked passengers.
“The airline was constrained in capacity from a wide-body A330-200 aircraft to a narrow-body B737-800 aircraft and thus had to leave some of the passengers’ baggage behind in London. ”
He said Passengers were however duly informed of this capacity restriction at the check-in desk at London Heathrow Airport and were advised of the possibility that some of their baggage will have to be sent on subsequent flights as per space availability.
He said Arik Air offers the most generous in-cabin and checked in baggage allowance on the route and due to capacity restrictions on the smaller B737-800 aircraft.
Ola said the airline had to drop some of the baggage in order to accommodate maximum number of passengers.
He said: “To this end, an extra aircraft was also operated to London Heathrow on Sunday, December 4, 2016 to accommodate all passengers and some outstanding baggage.
“Passengers have been assured that all the backlog of their baggage would arrive in Lagos on Tuesday and Wednesday, December 6 and 7, 2016 respectively.
“Arik Air regrets any inconvenience this development may have caused its esteemed guests.
“We appeal to our guests to show some understanding and not to resort to damaging of the airline’s properties and disruption of operations.”
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Stowaway found dead in Arik Air plane in Johannesburg
The lifeless body of a stowaway was on Wednesday, November 30, 2016 found in the main wheel well of one of Arik Air’s A330-200 aircraft at the Oliver Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg.
Arik spokesman, Adebanji Ola disclosed Wednesday.
The aircraft, he said operated the scheduled Lagos-Johannesburg flight that departed the Murtala Muhammed International Airport on Tuesday, November 29, 2016 and arrived Johannesburg same day.
He said Engineers of South African Airways Technical facility at the Oliver Tambo International Airport where the aircraft was scheduled for a routine maintenance check discovered the body of the stowaway during inspection phase.
He said Investigations are ongoing to determine how the stowaway found his way into the aircraft’s main wheel well.
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Arik Air cuts flights over aviation fuel scarcity
Scarcity of aviation fuel , otherwise known as Jet A – 1, is taking a huge toll on domestic flight operations, forcing major carrier Arik Air to reduce flights.
Flight reduction, the airline said is an intervention measure taken to cope with the situation .
The airline’s spokesman, Mr. Adebanji Ola said in a statement that aviation fuel scarcity started manifesting last week when major oil marketers began to ration the supply of the product to airlines.
Ola said Arik with its daily need of about 500,000 litres to operate 100 daily flights is most affected by the current scarcity .
He said the carrier had to re- route one of its flights to Port Harcourt to pick fuel.
Ola said : “With a daily fuel need of about 500,000 litres and an average of over 100 daily flights, Arik Air is mostly affected by this scarcity which is the fourth this year alone. One of the airline’s flights to Johannesburg on Tuesday had to be routed via Port Harcourt to pick up fuel.
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Arik Air scales down flights as aviation fuel scarcity worsens
Scarcity of aviation fuel, otherwise known as Jet A – 1 is taking a huge toll on domestic flight operations forcing major carrier Arik Air to announce flight reduction.
Flight reduction, the airline said is an intervention measure taken to cope with the situation.
The airline’s spokesman, Mr. Adebanji Ola said in a statement that aviation fuel scarcity started manifesting last week when major oil marketers began to ration the supply of the product to airlines.
Ola said Arik with its daily need of about 500,000 litres to operate 100 daily flights is most affected by the current scarcity.
He said the carrier had to re-route one of its flights to Port Harcourt to pick fuel.
Ola said: “With a daily fuel need of about 500,000 litres and an average of over 100 daily flights, Arik Air is mostly affected by this scarcity which is the fourth this year alone. One of the airline’s flights to Johannesburg on Tuesday had to be routed via Port Harcourt to pick up fuel.
“As a result of the worsening supply situation of the aviation fuel, Arik Air has announced further reduction in flights from Wednesday, November 16 , 2016 to cope with the fresh scarcity, and reduce the unpleasant delays and cancellations which passengers have experienced in recent times.”
He added: “One of the marketers issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) on Saturday alerting of non-availability of the product in Lagos. Another marketer said it was running out of product in Lagos with limited supplies in Port Harcourt and Abuja.
“This development has started taking its toll on Arik Air due to the airline’s large scale operations, with flights being delayed across the country and in some cases cancelled especially for airports without airfield lighting.
The airline therefore appealed for the understanding of its customers whose flights are likely to be affected by the scarcity and scaling down of operations.
“Where flights are to be delayed or cancelled as a result of the scarcity, Arik Air will be sending text or email messages to passengers,” said Ola.
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Arik Air scales down flights due to aviation fuel scarcity
Arik Air on Wednesday announced reduction of flights due to the lingering scarcity of JET A1 (aviation fuel).
The airline made the announcement in a statement by its Communications Manager, Mr Ola Adebanji, in Lagos.
Arik Air said that aviation fuel scarcity started manifesting last week when major oil marketers began to ration supply of the product to airlines.
It said: “With a daily fuel need of about 500,000 litres and an average of over 100 daily flights, Arik Air is mostly affected by this scarcity which is the fourth this year alone.
“One of the airline’s flights to Johannesburg on Tuesday had to be routed via Port Harcourt to pick up fuel.
“As a result of the worsening supply situation of aviation fuel, Arik Air has announced further reduction in flights from Nov. 16 to cope with the fresh scarcity.’’
According to the airline, the reduction will reduce unpleasant flight delays and cancellations which passengers have experienced in recent times.
It said that an oil marketer issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) on Saturday, alerting of non-availability of the product in Lagos.
Arik Air added that another marketer said it was running out of the product in Lagos with limited supplies in Port Harcourt and Abuja.
“This development has started taking its toll on Arik Air due to the airline’s large scale operations, with flights being delayed across the country and, in some cases, cancelled especially for airports without airfield lighting.”
It appealed for the understanding of its customers whose flights were likely to be affected by the scarcity and scaling down of operations.
It said that would notify passengers through SMS or email messages in situation where flights would be delayed or cancelled due to the scarcity.
NAN reports that the Minister of State for Aviation, Capt. Hadi Sirika, had at the weekend, assured stakeholders in the sector that the government was making efforts to address the scarcity.
Sirika said that the long-term target of the government was to ensure local production of aviation fuel to make the product easily available for airline operators. (NAN)
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‘Arik Air carried 19.5m passengers in 10 years’
Arik Air said yesterday that it has flown over 19.5 million passengers in the ten years of its existence .
Its Managing Director, Chris Ndulue disclosed at a briefing to mark the ten years anniversary of the airline .
He said the airline has grappled with a myriad of challenges in one decade of existence citing access to foreign exchange as the greatest hurdle militating against the growth of air transport business.
Ndulue spoke of plans by the airline to grow its fleet from the current 28 aircraft to over 52 by 2025.
He said the effects of the current economic recession would require Arik to be cautious in any expansion drive.
The Arik Air boss said the airline intends to expand its flight operations in West and Central Africa as well as new frontiers in Asia and the Middle East in the years ahead .
He said :” Our goal in the last years has been to pursue safety and security . This has seen us take several steps to up the game. We are hoping to expand our operations into West and Central Africa as well as Asia and Middle East .
“We have taking a new approach to be cautious in our expansion drive because of the realities of the current recession .
“This has made funding a big issue , that is the reason we are slowing down .
“We will find solutions to the funding gap . This has made us look outside Nigeria to get bank loans without local bank guarantee.”
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Arik Air back in the air
Arik Air will resume normal flights Wednesday morning, 24 hours after it suspended operations over problems with insurance.
In a statement on its website, Arik Air, Nigeria’s biggest airline, said it will resume flights at 11 am on Wednesday, having resolved its insurance issues.
The company also said that it is in the process of changing its ‘airline Liability Insurance providers’.
“Arik Air, West and Central Africa’s largest airline, is pleased to announce that scheduled flights will resume from 11 am tomorrow, Wednesday September 14, 2016.
“Members of the public and our customers are advised to discountenance the disparaging allegations, unsubstantiated and uninformed claims about the airline’s inability to meet its financial obligations to aviation fuel marketers and a purported withdrawal of insurance services to Arik Air by its insurers.
“While the current scarcity of aviation fuel (JET A1) has impacted on the operations of airlines in the country, Arik Air is in good standing with its fuel suppliers and have been meeting its obligations to them and to our insurers.
“With the regularisation of the required documents relating to the renewal of the insurance, Arik Air will be resuming its normal flying schedule from 1100 hours on Wednesday, September 14, 2016.
“Arik Air regrets the unfortunate inconvenience caused to its customers and reassures our customers of expedient rebooking of their flights.”
The airline had created panic in the aviation sector on Tuesday after it announced the suspension of flights.
The action held prospects of shrinking flight options for travellers, especially as two other domestic airlines have grounded operations.
Aero Contractors, Nigeria’s second biggest domestic operator, saddled by huge debts announced late August it was suspending operations indefinitely from 1 September and asked staff to go home.
“The impact of the external environment has been very harsh on our operational performance, hence management decision to suspend scheduled services operations indefinitely effective September 1, 2016, pending when the external opportunities and a robust sustainable and viable plan is in place for Aero Contractors to recommence its scheduled services.
“The implication of the suspension of scheduled services operations extends to all staffs directly and indirectly involved in providing services as they are effectively to proceed on indefinite leave of absence during the period of non-services.”, the airline said.
First Nation followed, but promised to resume operations on 15 September.
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Arik suspends operations over insurance renewal
• NCAA: we ‘ll hasten documentation
Arik Air has announced a temporary disruption of its operations, pending approval of aircraft documentation related to insurance renewal, its spokesman, Adebanji Ola said on Tuesday.
The airline said it was working round the clock to resolve the documentation which has been a challenge due to the long weekend holidays.
He said: “At the present time, all flights of the airline have been cancelled for Tuesday, September 13 and the airline has stated that it would be getting in touch with passengers to provide an update on rescheduling of their flights. This situation is likely to continue for the next few days until such a time that NAICOM (National Insurance Commission) approves a waiver on a priority basis for the new insurance company to renew the policy.
“All customers are kindly advised to contact Arik Air’s Airport or City ticket offices or visit the airline’s Website for further updates. Passengers are also advised to check with the airline regarding the status of their flights before proceeding to the airport.”
He said Arik Air’s Group Chief Executive Officer Dr. Michael Arumemi-Ikhide advised and assure the public, its customers, stakeholders and partners that ‘we are fully committed to returning to our normal operations and minimise any unfortunate inconvenience to our passengers.
“Where flights have been cancelled, the airline will notify passengers through SMS and in such cases, passengers will be accommodated on first available alternative flight as soon as normal flight operations resume.
He said the Group CEO has apologised and appealed for the understanding of passengers while it works diligently to resume normal operations at the earliest.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority ( NCAA) has assured that documentation approvals for carrier would be fast-tracked so that flight operations could resume.
An official of the regulatory agency who declined to be named said it is working with the airline to ensure that the renewal of insurance is accelerated as soon as possible.
A source however hinted that the new local insurer for Arik-Unsure Insurance Company, has secured approval from NAICOM to enable the airline resume operations.
The approval, it was learnt, was sequel to a waiver granted on a priority basis for the new insurance company to renew the policy.
The source said two of Arik Air aircraft has been cleared and returned to operations yesterday on the Lagos-Port-Harcourt route.
Lloyd of London are the re- insurer for Arik Air aircraft.
NCAA requres that airlines have a valid cover on any aircraft before it could be airborne.