The national carrier of Turkey, Turkish Airlines, has threatened to cancel all its operations into Nigeria following picketing of its offices in Lagos and Abuja airports by the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) on Tuesday.

The airline also declared that it operates in Nigeria in full compliance with the country’s labour laws, contrary to the claim of the union.

The airline in a statement on Wednesday, signed by its management and made available to journalists, regretted the picketing of its offices by the officials of NUATE, despite the ongoing dialogue with the union.

It also debunked the claim of NUATE that it flagrantly disobeyed Nigeria’s labour in its relationship with its staff in the country, adding that it also operates in compliance with the regulatory framework.

The airline expressed that safety and security of its passengers, employees and operations remained its top priority.

The statement said: “We remain committed to continuing discussions with relevant parties to reach a responsible and constructive resolution, while reiterating our expectation that all necessary measures will be taken to ensure a secure and stable operating environment, otherwise, we would like to inform you that we will consider the cancellation option in our flight schedule.

“We expect all stakeholders to pursue their concerns through established legal and dialogue channels, rather than such disruptive actions.

“As demonstrated in the past, should operational conditions fail to meet the required safety standards, Turkish Airlines will take the necessary operational measures.”

The union had on Tuesday disrupted operations of the airline in Lagos and Abuja airports over the sack of seven staff for unionism.

The picketing of the airline’s operational counters, led to the non-airlifting of about 300 passengers of the airline at the Lagos airport alone.

The unions, in their numbers, stormed the terminal with various placards to convey their anger and accused the management of Turkish Airlines of continually violating the labour laws in the country.

According to the union, Turkish Airlines had in 2020, allegedly dismissed union members in its establishment.

The union claimed that the dismissed staff were yet to be given their benefits six years after the termination of their service by the airline, thereby causing significant concern among workers.

They also accused the airline of disobeying court order, which directed the immediate reinstatement of the workers, vowing that the union would continue the protest until justice was done. (Guardian)