Ahead of the nationwide strike to be embarked on by the organized labour in the country, Dana has concluded plans to ensure that they do not bear the impact of the imminent strike action.
To this end, the airline says they will available to reschedule or reroute its passengers at no cost to the passengers.
The airline in a statement signed by it Media and Communications Manager, Kingsley Ezenwen appealed to the Federal Government and the organized labour to find a middle ground and resolve the issue in the overall interest of Nigerians and the economy, adding that the parties should deeply think about the inconvenience of the likely effects of flight disruption on its passengers and the huge loss of income on its part.
‘While we regret the inconveniences on the part of our guests who are already on our scheduled flights for the week, and the likely loss of income on our part, we appeal to the Federal Government and the Nigerian Labour Congress to find a middle ground and resolve the issue in the overall interest of Nigerians and the economy.’’
In a related development, Comrade Illitrus Ahmadu, President of Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) said that if the tripartite meeting with the Federal Government failed, the unions would obey the directive of the labour centres and shut down the airspace.
While empathised with the domestic operators and other business organisations in the industry that would be affected by the action, comrade Ahamadu said as affiliated members of labour centres, they had to comply with their directives.
“The fact is that we are affiliated to labour centres and we are under obligation to comply with directives. So, from the strike notice issued so far, we are to shut down by mid-night of today. However, as we speak, the tripartite discussions have resumed; they are in a meeting and our hope is that something good will come out of the meeting so that we will no longer embark on the strike.
He, however, said that the industry unions were not unmindful of existing Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) arrangements Nigeria had with foreign countries whose airlines operate into the country, stressing that the issue at hand was a domestic one, which should not be allowed to affect international airline operators.
“You know, we are in a very volatile industry. This is our own national problem; we have several bilateral agreements with most foreign nations that their airlines fly into Nigeria. It is our domestic problem. We should not allow it to adversely affect the fortunes of the international operators. We have offered a corridor where we will accommodate them. The major shut down we have had in this industry so far was during the price hike of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
