The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has ordered airlines to give aviation unions direct access to their workers for the distribution of union membership forms, warning that operators who prevent such access could face sanctions from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
The directive was one of the major resolutions reached at an emergency stakeholdersā meeting convened by Keyamo on Thursday, August 13, 2026, involving aviation sector unions, airline operators and heads of government agencies.
The meeting was held against the backdrop of lingering industrial disputes threatening to trigger further disruption in the aviation sector and came after previous engagements between the ministry, aviation unions and the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON).
The unions had temporarily suspended their planned industrial action on Tuesday following earlier discussions with the government, creating an opportunity for the parties to seek solutions to the outstanding disputes.
The emergency meeting was therefore convened to address the disagreements between workers, unions, airlines and aviation agencies and prevent a fresh industrial crisis capable of disrupting flight operations across the country.
According to a statement issued by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mahmud Adam Kambari, extensive deliberations at the meeting produced several resolutions covering airlinesā outstanding financial obligations, workersā unionisation rights and the need for structured engagement among the stakeholders.
Under the resolutions, the NCAA and heads of other aviation agencies were directed to obtain payment schedules from airlines over their outstanding financial obligations.
The stakeholders agreed that the payments should be spread over a āreasonable timeframeā, taking into consideration the operational costs of the airlines and prevailing economic conditions in the country.
The Directors of Finance and Accounts in all aviation agencies were also directed to meet individually with airlines within one week to negotiate and agree on realistic repayment plans.
The meeting also tackled one of the major sources of tension between aviation unions and airline operators ā the unionisation of airline workers.
Keyamo recognised the right of workers to decide independently whether or not to belong to trade unions, stressing that the decision should be made by the workers themselves rather than being determined by airline management.
As part of the resolution, the NCAA was directed to immediately ensure that aviation unions have direct access to workers of all airlines solely for the purpose of distributing union membership forms.
Workers are expected to use the forms to indicate directly whether they wish to join a union.
The ministry warned that any airline that prevents aviation unions from gaining such direct access to workers would face sanctions from the NCAA.
The stakeholders also agreed to reconvene after one month to assess the implementation of the resolutions and review developments in the aviation sector.
The ministry said the resolutions reached at the meeting represented the collective decisions of all parties involved.
The latest intervention comes amid tensions between aviation unions and airline operators over workersā unionisation rights and other industrial issues, with the possibility of another industrial action raising concerns over flight disruptions and their impact on passengers.
Keyamo, according to the ministry, assured stakeholders of the governmentās commitment to maintaining a safe and viable aviation industry.
The minister also reiterated President Bola Tinubuās administrationās commitment to ensuring a safe, efficient, peaceful and sustainable aviation sector.
The Federal Government is expected to monitor compliance with the resolutions as the parties work towards preventing another industrial crisis that could disrupt flight operations and affect thousands of passengers across Nigeria.