Nigeria: 300 Arik Air workers face redundancy due to COVID-19

Nigeria's largest airline Arik Air has made 300 of its staff redundant because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report by Today Ng.

The airline reportedly said in a statement on Friday that the company has not been able to generate wholesome revenue in times of rising costs as the pandemic has caused limitations in the maintenance and operations of planes.

Adebanji Ola, the public relations and communication aide of Arik signed the statement and said a total of 300 employees are redundant to the current operations.

Ola also mentioned that the company has reached to impacted union leadership to arrange a redundancy package for affected workers. The statement read, "the leadership of the impacted unions has been contacted to negotiate a redundancy package for the affected staff. It is important to note that over 50 percent of Arik Air's workforce of over 1,600 staff have been on furlough in the past six months on a base allowance. Decisions to let go of staff is naturally a difficult decision. Arik Air wishes the impacted staff well in their future endeavors".

The airlines in Nigeria didn't operate for six months during the COVID-19 lockdown.

As Azam Air reportedly sacked six pilots in November "due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the aviation industry".