International travelers were left stuck at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos as the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (NAHCo Plc) workers suspended operations.
The employee stated that they wouldn’t start working until their pay problems were resolved.
While Virgin Atlantic, which is on the ground, is offloading with their staff and the cargo is still on the aircraft because NAHCO staff refused to work, only passengers were allowed to disembark, according to information obtained, Air Maroc and Qatar Airlines passenger flights have been diverted.
Among other foreign airlines, NAHCo manages check-in, boarding, and ramp services for Delta, Turkish Air, Ethiopian Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Qatar, and Air France-KLM.
At 8:30 am, stranded Virgin Atlantic travelers were pleading with the workers’ union to end their strike while seeking a peaceful conclusion.
Many of Virgin Atlantic’s customers are British students going back to their universities. In order to find out what to do next, many of their parents and guardians in Nigeria and the UK were overheard calling their wards.
John Adebanjo, the General Sales Agent (GSA) for Virgin Atlantic Airways, claimed that the predicament had put our passengers in a panic.
“We are hopeful that the issue will be rectified and passengers will be able to board for their trip at 10:00 am.”
The travelers were said to have arrived at the international terminal of the Lagos airport in preparation for their flights. They had no idea what awaited them. Confusion ruled at the terminal, as several could be seen shouting at some NAHco employees for making the decision to go on strike.
An airline passenger revealed that there was a serious issue at the airport since NAHCO employees left the international terminal while claiming to be on strike.
“As passengers are losing their minds, all NAHCO-managed flights have been grounded to prevent a crisis. I’m at the airport right now.
Even the Qatar flight I’m on this morning landed and turned around to head back to Doha since no one was available to handle them.
Before things worsen, we must address this issue right away, he stated.
Another traveler claimed that on Monday morning at 7:00 am, NAHCO employees informed passengers that they were on strike and would not be ready to work unless their demands were satisfied.
“Without any information from the airline, we are frustrated at the airport.”
There were hints that the issue the business had caused would affect additional carriers.
The management met with the workers on Sunday to discuss the impending strike, according to a source at NAHCO who wished to remain anonymous and who assured that the issue will be resolved quickly.
Many people think that the incident may have resulted in significant financial losses for the corporation and airlines as well as derailed numerous passengers’ vacation plans.
