Bristow sacks striking staff

Barely 24 hours after Nigeria’s biggest airline, Air Peace sacked over 70 pilots citing COVID-19 crisis, another airline, Bristow Helicopters, has also terminated the appointment of over 100 pilots and engineers whose union began an industrial action on Monday.

The airline working in the oil and gas sector said those sacked comprised both Nigerian nationals and expatriates working with the company.

• Air Peace sacks pilots as talk over pay cut collapses
• NLC, aviation unions shut down Bristow Helicopters

The management described the industrial action as illegal and unwarranted, saying it remains open to dialogue with the union.

But the crisis reached a crescendo yesterday when the management reportedly issued a sack letter to the over 100 pilots and engineers working with the airline.

The airline in a statement said it has engaged the NAAPE to negotiate a fair and equitable redundancy compensation for the affected individuals.

According to the airline, the decision to sack the pilot was due to the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The statement said: “The spread of the COVID-19 virus has severely impacted all sectors in the aviation industry including our market, which primarily serves the Nigerian oil and gas sector.  In addition, the ongoing downturn in the global oil and gas market continues to influence and determine the demand for our services.”