From Suleiman Idris, Lagos
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) yesterday issued a stern warning to Airline Operators who are defaulting in the payment of their staff salaries.
The warning was issued after the management of the regulatory authority held a meeting with all the Airlines culpable in the practice.
The agency expressed serious concern over the non – payment of salaries by the airlines and described the development as detrimental to the continuous growth the industry has witnessed in recent times.
It said “the action became necessary when consistently the financial health reports from the airlines were indicating gaps in financial stability.”
A document obtain by journalists stated that “As far as the NCAA is concerned, the issue of non payment of staff salaries is critical to safety. The moment an airline cannot meet its financial obligations, it is believed that the staff morale will be down and this can impact negatively on safety and security of its operations.”
It further emerged that the airlines were told in clear term that NCAA will not condone a situation where their staff will disrupt operations which will affect the travel plans of passengers who have purchased their tickets.
Consequently, a warning letter has been written to the affected airlines, informing them that non payment of staff salaries is unacceptable to the agency.
NCAA warns the airlines that if this act persists, it will recourse to sanctions, one of which may result in suspension of Air Operators Certificate (AOC).
NCAA General Manager, Public Affairs, Fan Ndubuoke in a statement said “The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) therefore wishes to reiterate that it will continue carrying out financial health audit of airlines to ensure that our airline operations are healthy, safe and secure”.
