By Nathaniel Irobi
United Nigeria Airlines has temporarily suspended its flight operations due to the ongoing industrial action by aviation unions, the carrier announced on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, citing the need to protect passenger and crew safety.
The decision comes as the labour dispute, which has already grounded operations of Air Peace nationwide, continues to escalate across Nigeria’s major aviation hubs.
The suspension follows Tuesday’s coordinated action by the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), and the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), backed by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), which saw Air Peace operations shut down at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded.
The unions accused domestic airlines of blocking workers from freely joining trade unions and failing to remit the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) collected from passengers, which is meant to fund aviation agencies.
In a statement signed by its management, United Nigeria Airlines said: “This decision was taken to protect the safety of our passengers and crew, which remains our priority at all times. Rather than compromise on safety, we have chosen to pause operations until normalcy is restored.”
The airline apologised to passengers for the inconvenience and assured that affected travellers would be kept informed of updated flight schedules .
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has appealed to the unions to suspend the industrial action and exercise restraint pending the return of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo (SAN), who has been actively working towards resolving the issues.
In a statement signed by the Director-General of Civil Aviation, Capt. Chris Ona Najomo, the NCAA revealed that a meeting convened by the Minister last week could not hold because airline operators failed to honour the invitation .
The unions had issued a three-day strike notice at the weekend, accusing airlines of making “unfettered unionisation of staff in their organisation impossible” and withholding the 5% TSC, which they said has rendered negotiated collective bargaining agreements “nugatory” and created conditions they described as “an accident in the waiting” . Describing Tuesday’s action against Air Peace as a “gesture of restraint,” the unions said they had given the airline several weeks to address their grievances .
The NCAA assured the travelling public that “flight safety remains uncompromised” and that the Authority continues to exercise its statutory safety oversight responsibilities, while appealing “to all parties to embrace dialogue and cooperation”.
The Authority expressed confidence that the matter would be resolved shortly and normal flight operations would resume as soon as practicable. United Nigeria Airlines confirmed it is closely monitoring the situation and will resume full operations once normalcy is restored .
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