Two prominent aviation unions in the country, the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), are pushing for the establishment of a new national airline.

The national presidents of the unions, Comrades Benjamin Okewu and Safiyanu Mohammed, while answering questions from reporters in Lagos, on the need for the government to pay final entitlements of workers of the defunct Nigeria Airways, said recent happenings in the country revealed that there was need for a new national carrier.

The unions said the inability of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to fly into the country printed electoral materials as one of the reasons for a shift in the NASS election and the evacuation of stranded Nigerians in Libya and Cote D’ ivore in the wake of crises there were consequences of not having a national carrier.

The union leaders declared that such national embarrassment arising from the reasons of INEC’s inability to bring into the country electoral materials, inability to evacuate stranded Nigerian in Libya and Cote D’ivore will continue until a new national carrier was established.

According to them, “A national carrier is very, very important because these issues will never happen when we have a national carrier no matter the explanation given, if we had a national carrier it doesn’take five minutes for a decision to be taking to get the INEC materials back to Nigeria. This is what you face when people take decisions that are anti-people, selfish decisions because of their personal and business interests as against public interest.”

They noted that the absence of a national carrier has led to a dearth in the number of trained professionals in the country’s aviation industry following the ageing of those professionals trained by the defunct airways as non of the operating airlines was ready to train its workers.

The union leaders disclosed that most of the professionals used to fight for the country’s attainment of category one, were trained professionals from Nigeria Airways. They noted that the aviation system may collapse as a result of lack of training by private domestic airlines since the demise of airways.

They declared that as soon as a new government was formed after the elections, that the unions will fully agitate for the new national airline in the country, if the country must become a hub. On the five years pay off to workers of the defunct airways, the unions said it was unacceptable as such payment was for dead staff.

“The first payment to Nigeria Airways workers was an injustice because their counterparts in their international offices got far payment than those in Nigeria. While some got 25% pay off, their counterparts in Nigeria got 5% payment (policy for the dead)”.

They gave the assurance that since their counterparts in NITEL got 25% as their pay off; such will be extended to them stressing that they have 15% additional payment to be collected adding that agreement was almost concluded between the workers of the defunct airways and the Attorney General of the federation where it was being requested for additional 15 years to be given to them.

“The workers have not been paid their full entitlement, what government paid them was a five year pay off which we said it was meant for the dead and since them we have been agitating through the National Assembly presidency and even the case is an court.”

They however expressed the hope that the recent involvement of the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress has brought some positive scenario with the Federal government requesting for a meeting of all the tiers of government to meet and send a report on the issue of Nigeria Airways to the presidency for action.