The recent industrial action by staff and unions of the Nigerian Meteorological Services Agency (NiMet) has taken a significant toll on domestic air operations, with leading carrier Air Peace lamenting what it describes as a “humongous” financial hit due to the disruption. The strike, which led to a temporary halt in flight operations beginning Tuesday evening and running through Wednesday, left dozens of flights grounded and passengers stranded nationwide.
An official of Air Peace, who chose to remain anonymous due to lack of formal authorisation, disclosed that the airline may have lost close to $1 million in revenue as a result of the shutdown. The official painted a grim picture of the economic impact, stressing that the ripple effect extends far beyond the airline itself.
“What we have lost is massive—it’s humongous,” the source said. “Air Peace operates at least 100 flights daily. When you consider the number of passengers and the revenue per trip, you begin to see not just how much the airline lost, but also how much the government lost in tax and charges, and how much damage this does to our economy at large.”
It was gathered that the industrial action affected no fewer than 150 scheduled flights, with each flight projected to yield around $10,000 in revenue under normal conditions. Cumulatively, this means Air Peace alone could have lost between $1.2 million and $1.5 million during the disruption. After adjusting for operational cost savings—such as aviation fuel and ground handling charges—the airline’s net loss is estimated between $900,000 and $1.2 million.
Despite the staggering figures, the airline insisted its decision to ground flights during the strike was anchored purely on its commitment to passenger safety and adherence to international best practices. The official explained that the absence of weather updates and technical support from NiMet rendered flight operations too risky to continue.
“Safety remains our top priority. That’s what Air Peace has stood for from day one,” the official said. “Before any aircraft takes off, our crew carries out a thorough pre-flight inspection. If anything appears out of order, we ground the plane immediately, fix the issue, and only then do we proceed. The same applies when we don’t have verified weather reports. We cannot endanger lives.”
The NiMet strike has once again spotlighted the fragile state of Nigeria’s aviation sector, where labour disputes within critical agencies can grind the entire ecosystem to a halt. As Air Peace and other affected airlines begin to assess the full extent of their losses, industry watchers are calling for urgent reforms to insulate aviation safety services from avoidable disruptions in the future.
