The Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) has threatened fresh disruption to air operations across the country if its officials are detained for longer than necessary after honouring an invitation from the Nigeria Police over the August 11 picketing of Air Peace.
The union, in a notice signed by its General Secretary, Comrade Frances Akinjole, described the police invitation as an act of ‘reckless intimidation.’
ATSSSAN said it received an invitation from the Nigeria Police Headquarters, Abuja, following a complaint lodged by the airline concerning the picketing carried out by aviation unions on August 11, 2026.
The union said the police invitation listed allegations including conspiracy, threatening violence, inciting disturbance of public peace, assault occasioning harm and conduct likely to cause a breach of peace.
According to the notice, the police have scheduled 11am on September 2, 2026, for the union to appear at their office in Abuja.
The union said it had resolved to honour the invitation, accompanied by a sizable number of its officers and members, in order to present its account of the August 11 incident and resist what it described as an attempt at intimidation.
‘We have decided to honour the invitation together with a sizable number of our officers and members, principally in order to enable us put the occurrence in the correct perspective and to dare the intimidation by Air Peace,’ the union said.
ATSSSAN, however, warned that its members’ response to the police invitation could have implications for aviation operations if the union’s officials were subjected to prolonged detention.
It said: ‘However, if we are held by the Police for longer than necessary, we may no longer be able to guarantee continuation of air operations in the various airports across the country immediately.’
The latest development raises fresh concerns over industrial relations in Nigeria’s aviation sector, coming barely weeks after aviation unions staged a picketing exercise at airports.
The August 11 industrial action had disrupted the airline’s operations and resulted in heightened tension between the unions and the carrier.
Air Peace had said it lost N2bn to the picketing by the unions which it said violated existing court order.
The Chief Operating Officer of Air Peace Limited, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Olajide, described the incident as ‘deeply disturbing,’ saying the airline’s employees, passengers and operations were subjected to violence, intimidation and disruption.
The Air Peace COO said the unions have cited two major reasons for their action: the alleged indebtedness of airlines to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) in respect of the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC), and the lack of unionisation among employees of airlines.
Olajide, however, questioned why Air Peace was singled out when the TSC issue was allegedly an industry-wide matter.
She said the Director-General of the NCAA had publicly stated that airlines, and not Air Peace alone, were complying with the regulator’s directives concerning the applicable payment.
‘This therefore raises a fundamental question: if the issue is industry-wide, why was Air Peace singled out for violent and disruptive picketing?’ she asked.