BY VICTOR BUORO, ABUJA – The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika has expressed optimism of a bright future for the Nigerian aviation industry after the dark times of COVID-19 pandemic that it presently faces, hoping that the pandemic will be short-lived.
Sirika, who stated this in a message to the Nigerian workers, who join their counterparts in other parts of the world to mark the 2020 Workers Day, said that those in the aviation have an assurance of better days ahead in spite of the current hardship caused by the Coronavirus-induced shutdown of the industry.
The Minister noted that workers in the aviation industry were among the hardest hit economically by the coronavirus pandemic ravaging the world, especially with the grounding of passenger flights and shutting down of services globally.
He said; “It is highly regrettable that airlines and other service providers are being forced to cope with the option of either sending their staff on compulsory leaves or reduction of their wages as occasioned by the redundancy caused by COVID-19 scourge.
“Government is aware of the dire situation in the aviation sector and will do whatever is practically possible to mitigate the consequences of the total lockdown in the industry and create an enabling environment for the sector to bounce back.”
A statement by the Director, Public Affairs in the Ministry, said the Minister appealed to both private and public workers in the sector to keep hope alive as there are reasons to believe that the industry will come out of the current situation stronger, and in a better situation to improve the welfare of its employees.
