Due to the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Staff of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) will be paid half salaries for the month of May. A memo dated 19th of May, 2020 has revealed.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the aviation industry due to the resulting travel restrictions as well as slump in demand among travellers. Significant reductions in passenger numbers has resulted in planes flying empty between airports and the cancellation of flights.
The International Air Transport Association estimated on 5 March 2020, that the airline industry could lose between US$63 to 113 billion of revenues due to the reduced number of passengers. IATA had previously estimated revenue losses of around US$30 billion two weeks before their 5 March estimate. By 17 March, IATA had stated that its 5 March estimate was “outdated”, and that airlines would require $200 billion in bailouts to survive the crisis. IATA further revised their revenue loss estimate in 24 March to be $252 billion globally, a 44 percent drop.
According to a memo by FAAN, the decision to pay staff half salaries was to ensure the survival agencies under it.
The memo reads: “This is to notify all staff that due to the dwindling revenue generation amidst COVID19 pandemic, management may not be able to pay full salary to staff as from May 2020.
“However, as soon as the revenue generation improves, the balance will be paid. This measure is to ensure the survival of the organisation. For over two months, activities have been grounded to a halt in the industry to prevent the spread of the virus through air travel.”
Other Aviation agencies such as: Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET) and Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), may also adopt the decision of FAAN since they are all self-sustaining and derive their revenue from flight operations.
In addition, findings showed that ground handling companies and other ancillary providers in the industry are also affected by the pandemic.
Some airlines months back had told their staff that without flight operations, there would be no salaries while others managed to pay half month salaries in April.
