Hundreds of passengers have been stranded at the Muritala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos as workers of the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) embark on a strike.
According to reports, several international and local flights were grounded following the strike on Monday.
The protesting workers are demanding, among other things, salary increments.
A source at NAHCO disclosed that the management had met with the staff on Sunday to avert the strike but assured that the situation will be addressed soon.
One of the affected passengers said, “We were told that the strike affected almost all the flights in Nigeria that are working with NAHCO.”
“They said Qatar Airline had to go back to their base (Doha) because they can’t land in Nigeria.”
Another passenger, 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 passengers.
“Even the Qatar flight I’m travelling 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 were sent to passengers.
NAHCO handles check-in, boarding, and ramp services for several international airlines, including Air France/KLM, Qatar, Ethiopian Airlines, Delta Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, and Turkish Air.
Travellers say if the situation is not addressed, more flights will be grounded.
