International flights have heavily affected on Monday as Nigerian aviation workers staged protest over the failure of the management of the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc to increase their salaries.
The workers who also complained of the poor condition of service disrupted both passenger and cargo handling activities at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos during the protested.
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There were crowds at the passenger check-in counters as flight operations were suspended for the airlines that are serviced by the company.
“Passengers are stranded at the Lagos airport as aviation union protests over salary increment.
“NAHCO staff members are the ones protesting and international flights are heavily affected; they are all stuck at the airport,” a source said.
Another affected passenger and aviation expert, Alex Nuba, said that NAHCO staff in the early hours of Monday walked out of the international airport, saying they were on strike and would not handle any passenger.
“Even the Qatar flight I’m traveling with this morning landed and has returned to Doha as there’s no one to handle them,” Nwuba said.
He said passengers are frustrated as they have been kept outside to avoid a crisis and no information, announcements or emails was sent to passengers.
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NAHCO handles check-in, boarding and ramp services for several international airlines including Air France/KLM, Qatar, Ethiopian Airlines, Delta Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Turkish Air.
Travelers say if the situation is not addressed, more flights would be grounded.
Recently, air passengers have been affected by various contending issues at airports in the country.