Nigerian Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika has pleaded with the National Association of Air Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), pending the determination of a meeting be Bristow Managment, NAAPE and the Ministry of Labour on Thursday, in Lagos.
NAAPE President, Abednego Galadinma, at a news conference in Lagos, faulted Bristow Helicopters for sacking 100 pilots and engineers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the company was not saying the truth, since it operated throughout the lockdown period, servicing the oil and gas sector as an essential service provider.
Galadinma called on the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to prevail on the airlines to stop the unilateral dismissal of pilots and engineers as he reiterated the association’s resolve to withdraw their services to all airlines if their colleagues were sacked but the management of Bristow Helicopters Limited said the decision to lay off about 100 pilots and engineers was because of its plans to restructure the sector amid the COVID-19 pandemic.