The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, is set to brief President Bola Tinubu on the resolution reached between aviation sector unions and the Airline Operators of Nigeria over the lingering dispute surrounding the Ticket Sales Charge.

The development followed an emergency meeting convened by Keyamo on Thursday with representatives of both sides, days after the unions suspended their industrial action, which disrupted flight operations at major airports across the country.

The meeting, which lasted several hours in Abuja, ended with a five-point resolution addressing the unions’ concerns over airlines’ outstanding TSC payments, workers’ right to join trade unions and measures to prevent further disruptions to aviation operations, according to The PUNCH.

According to the statement, the ministry said the parties agreed that the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority and other relevant aviation agencies would obtain repayment schedules from airlines with outstanding Ticket Sales Charge obligations.

The agreed repayment plans would allow the airlines to settle their debts over a reasonable period, taking into account their operating costs and the prevailing economic conditions.

The statement said Directors of Finance and Accounts across the aviation agencies would meet separately with the affected airlines within one week to negotiate realistic repayment plans for their outstanding obligations.

On the issue of unionisation, Keyamo reaffirmed aviation workers’ right to independently decide whether to belong to a trade union.

The ministry consequently directed the NCAA to ensure that unions have direct access to workers across all airlines to distribute membership forms.

Under the resolution, workers, rather than airline management, would independently decide whether to join a trade union. The ministry warned that any airline that obstructed unions from having direct access to workers would be sanctioned by the NCAA.

The parties also agreed to reconvene in one month to evaluate the implementation of the resolutions and review the status of the dispute. The ministry said the five resolutions reflected the collective decisions reached by all parties at the meeting.

The resolution stated that the NCAA and other heads of aviation agencies would obtain payment schedules from airlines, with the outstanding obligations spread over a reasonable period in consideration of the airlines’ operating costs and prevailing economic conditions.