"Leave Without Pay": Nigerian Azman Air Announces Suspension of Operations, Pauses Salary Payments .

• Azman Air, a Nigerian airline, has suspended operations and directed all of its staff to take unpaid leave as a matter of course.
• It confirmed that all of their planes are receiving maintenance at the same time that this is taking place.
• Azman Air went on to state that the airline's domestic operations and staff are expected to resume in October 2024.

Azman Air, a Nigerian carrier, has suspended its operations and placed all of its employees on mandatory, unpaid leave. This decision was confirmed by Nurudeen Aliyu, the Public Relations Officer at Azman Air, on Monday.

Nurudeen Aliyu attributed the development to the ongoing maintenance work on their fleet. Aliyu explained,

"Two of our aircraft are in maintenance and three are due for C-checks. That's why we suspended our domestic operations. Our aircraft will be back in October."

He further added that the overhead costs were too heavy, prompting the management to temporarily halt the company's activities.

A memo dated August 3, 2023, and signed by Magaji Mohammed Misau, the Human Resources Manager, informed staff about the company's decision.

The suspension, which began on August 1st, 2023, affects nearly all employees, with only eight senior staff members exempted from the unpaid leave.

The "Placement Of Leave Without Pay" circular stated:

“As you are aware our domestic operations have been put on hold for a while, due to the conveyance of our Aircraft for C-Checks and the MROS’ has given a longer time of completion write and communicate its decision that all staff has been placed on Leave Without Pay with effect from 1” August, 2023.″

According to the company, the leave was necessary due to the conclusion of the company's Hajj operation and the non-availability of a Boeing 737 that had been sent for C-check maintenance but had yet to return.

This move comes on the heels of previous disruptions faced by the airline, including flight cancellations and a suspension by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

The NCAA had earlier cited safety concerns as the reason for suspending Azman Air's operations, adding another layer of complexity to the airline's current challenges.

The current suspension is expected to last until October 2024, when the maintenance work on the aircraft is anticipated to be completed.

This period of inactivity raises concerns about the broader impact on the airline industry in Nigeria, particularly regarding regulatory challenges and operational sustainability.

As per some sources, the airline is facing financial difficulties due to lack of revenue, said that sending workes on leave without pay was a way to cut costs.

With the current scenario of high operating costs in the Nigerian air travel market owing to expensive Jet fuel, Azman Air's future remains uncertain, will be worth seeing, how the carrier will navigate these turbulent times to start afresh.  

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