By Ime Akpan
Lagos
As the face-off between Arik Air and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) abates, the airline said at the weekend that it remitted N18.9 billion to FAAN between 2006 and the present.
It also announced that it had resumed services after last Wednesday’s disruption its operations by members of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN).
Addressing the media in Lagos, the airline’s chairman, Sir Johnson Arumemi-Ikhide said out of the N18.9 billion paid, FAAN had acknowledged receipt of N11.4 billion via a letter dated February 3, 2016.
Arumemi-Ikhide recalled that efforts were made by the senate committee on aviation, the former minister of aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah and the former permanent in the ministry of aviation, Hajia Binta Bello to reconcile the debts but to no avail because FAAN would always defer meeting dates to the time it would not honour.
“FAAN took the matter to the senate committee on aviation headed by Senator Hope Uzodinma but also frustrated efforts made by the committee to reconcile and resolve the matter.
“While the matter was there, FAAN asked the committee to give it two weeks; after that it asked for four weeks and finally stopped coming. We have been reminding them that we want to reconcile the account so that we can move forward,” he said.
Earlier, the airline’s legal consultant, Mr. Emeka Nwigwe, from Babajide Koku Chambers had described as “subjudice” the disruption of Arik Air operations by labour unions in the aviation industry.