By Our Reporter

Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-There are strong indications that Arik Air is facing imminent liquidation largely attributable to its heavy financial debt burden, weak corporate governance, operational challenges, bad management and other issues, which require urgent attention of all stakeholders in order to guarantee the continued survival of the Airline.

The countless number of issues confronting Arik Air of late ranges from confiscation of aircrafts due to non-payment of leases, frequent flight delays, failure to pay salaries arrears to workers, constant fracas between the airline staff and irate passengers at both local and international airports and so on.

According to our correspondent, the airline’s passengers getting stranded at the Airports have become a regular occurrence. During the last yuletide season, passengers were stranded in airports all over the country due to Arik’s incessant flight delays and cancellations, which negatively affected the preference they enjoy from passengers. “Passengers of the airline getting stranded for days on their international routes have also become a normal feature now to the embarrassment of the country,” our source said.

The airlines inability to pay its workers for seven months pushed the United Labour Congress (ULC) and Engineers Union to recently shut the offices of the Airline across the country, causing untold hardship to thousands of travelers and an embarrassment to the aviation sector in the country. Arik Air was picketed nationwide by the aviation unions, for failing to meet its own part of an earlier agreement with aviation unions when it made a commitment to pay the first batch of the seven months’ salary backlog to its workers by last Friday, the pledge on which it defaulted. Prior to this time, the airline had made agreement with the aviation trade unions to pay the outstanding October and November 2016 salaries before the end of last year.

Apart from owing workers’ salaries, the Airline has also not been remitting the taxes of workers to relevant bodies. “The airline also owes virtually all its service providers, including insurance premium, leases etc. Its aircrafts are under threat of being repossessed by equipment and fund providers. The signs, industry experts believe are not good,” our source added.

Recently, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) directed Arik to pay N6 million penalty for violating operation regulations over delay of passengers’ luggage. The Airline was also mandated to pay $150 to each passenger whose luggage was delayed as inconveniences for days awaiting the delivery of their bags.

Our source disclosed that due to the negligence of Arik air, decomposing body of a 30-year-old man was recently found by engineers in the wheel-well of Arik flight A330-200 during the scheduled routine maintenance check at the Oliver Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa.

With all these challenges, Arik is finding it extremely difficult to cope with the demands of its passengers, the Aviation authorities and the Unions as a result of continuous disruptions by members of the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN). The operations of the Airline have become highly inconsistent and unsafe with many experts believing in the certainty of its imminent collapse.

Arik Air founded in 2002 by Sir Joseph Arumemi-Ikhide is on the brink of collapse due to sharp decline in passenger confidence, indiscipline, increasing concerns of the aviation authorities on the safety of its operations among others. The strategic position the Airline holds of having the largest route coverage in the country calls for very urgent action from the Aviation authorities and other interested stakeholders to rescue the company, in the interest of the Aviation industry, the traveling public and the workers.  It is better to act now when it is still possible to redeem the situation. Allowing the airline to collapse is not an option because any further delay could be dangerous to the aviation industry.