Nigeria’s leading airline, Air Peace Ltd, has suspended all flight operations across the country due to an ongoing strike by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), which has disrupted the availability of critical weather information required for aviation safety.
In a statement released on Wednesday by the airline’s Head of Corporate Communications, Dr. Ejike Ndiulo, the decision was described as a necessary safety measure following the disruption of QNH (Current Nowcast of Hazardous Weather) reports — essential for safe aircraft landings, particularly during the current season of heavy rainfall and thunderstorms.
“Due to the ongoing NiMet strike and the unavailability of QNH reports required for safe landings, Air Peace has suspended all flight operations nationwide until the strike is over,” the statement read.
“Your safety is our top priority. We appreciate your understanding and will share updates as the situation unfolds,” Dr. Ndiulo added via the airline’s official X (formerly Twitter) account.
The disruption follows NiMet’s indefinite nationwide strike which commenced at midnight on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. The industrial action is led by three major aviation unions: the Union of Air Transport Employees, the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals, and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical, and Recreational Services Employees.
In a joint letter, the unions accused NiMet management of failing to honor long-standing agreements on workers’ welfare, including unresolved issues around wage disparities, unpaid allowances, and unmet entitlements dating back to the 2019 minimum wage implementation.
“Our unions have strived strenuously over the past few years to alleviate the exceedingly unjust remunerations conundrum that has visited extreme poverty and untold hardship on NiMet workers. These efforts have been largely without substantial results,” the unions stated.
They also condemned the agency’s alleged failure to implement a partial agreement signed on January 28, 2025, claiming the deal had been “honoured largely only in the breach.”
Citing the expiration of an earlier ultimatum and growing economic hardship, the unions said they had no option but to resume the previously suspended strike. All NiMet staff have been directed to withdraw services indefinitely, while aviation workers across the country have been asked to offer solidarity support.
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Meanwhile, when contacted by reporters, NiMet spokesperson Muntari Yusuf expressed surprise at the strike, claiming he had not received any formal notification from the union or agency leadership.
“Believe me sincerely, I’m not aware of any strike starting tomorrow,” Yusuf said. “Nobody gave me this information. I don’t have this information.”As the strike continues to disrupt Nigeria’s aviation sector, stakeholders await further developments, with flight safety and passengers’ travel plans hanging in the balance.
In response to the suspension, many Nigerians have taken to social media to express their frustrations—ironically calling on Air Peace and NiMet not to end the strike too soon. According to them, forcing politicians and public officials to travel by road will expose them to the harsh realities faced by ordinary Nigerians daily, including the dangerous conditions and deplorable state of the country’s highways.
