FG gives airlines 7 days to agree TSC debt repayment plans

The Federal Government has given domestic airlines and aviation agencies seven days to agree repayment schedules for outstanding five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) obligations, in a move aimed at ending the funding dispute that recently triggered industrial action and disrupted flight operations nationwide.

The deadline was agreed at an emergency stakeholders’ meeting convened by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, following the suspension of the unions’ industrial action on August 11.

The meeting brought together aviation unions, airline operators and government agencies to address the two issues at the centre of the dispute: unpaid TSC obligations and the right of airline workers to unionise.

Under the resolution, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and other aviation agencies are to negotiate realistic repayment plans with individual airlines, taking into account the operators’ operating costs and prevailing economic conditions.

Finance directors of the affected aviation agencies are expected to conclude the repayment arrangements with each airline within one week.

The resolution provides a temporary path out of a dispute that has exposed the financial pressures facing both airlines and aviation agencies, with operators arguing that rising operating costs have made it difficult to meet statutory obligations while agencies rely on the funds to finance their operations.

The government’s decision to allow repayment schedules, rather than demand immediate settlement of outstanding obligations, could ease pressure on airline cash flows while providing aviation agencies with a clearer mechanism for recovering funds owed to them.

The meeting also resolved a separate labour dispute over unionisation.

Airline workers are to be allowed to freely decide whether to belong to a trade union, with the NCAA directed to ensure that unions have direct access to workers across airlines solely for the distribution of unionisation forms.

The regulatory authority was also empowered to sanction any airline that obstructs employees from making their choices independently.

The stakeholders are expected to reconvene in one month to assess implementation of the agreements and review the state of the dispute.

According to the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mahmud Kambari, the Federal Government remains committed to building a safe, peaceful, efficient and sustainable aviation industry.

The latest agreement effectively shifts the immediate focus from confrontation over unpaid statutory charges to negotiated repayment, while giving airlines a defined period to reach arrangements with aviation agencies.

For the industry, the success of the agreement will depend on whether the seven-day deadline produces repayment plans that are commercially realistic for airlines while providing aviation agencies with sufficient funding to maintain critical regulatory, safety and operational functions.