The invitation followed a complaint filed by Air Peace against the union over the disruption of its operations during the industrial action, which left thousands of passengers stranded across the country.
ATSSSAN General Secretary, Francis Akinjole, said the union had been invited to appear before the police at their headquarters in Abuja at 11:00 a.m. on September 2, 2026.
The development comes weeks after the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and ATSSSAN, backed by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), shut down significant parts of Air Peace’s operations over a dispute involving the airline’s alleged non-remittance of the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), as well as workers’ rights to unionise.
The August 11 action reportedly disrupted more than half of the airline’s operations and caused widespread flight cancellations and delays, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.
Air Peace was also reported to have lost more than N2 billion in revenue as a result of the disruption.
Air Peace alleges conspiracy, threats
In its complaint to the police, Air Peace accused ATSSSAN of several offences, including conspiracy, threatening violence, inciting disturbance of public peace, assault occasioning harm and conduct likely to cause a breach of peace.
The allegations have now placed the union under police scrutiny, with ATSSSAN preparing to appear before the authorities to explain its position on the picketing.
Akinjole, in a public notice issued on behalf of the union, described the industrial action as lawful and accused Air Peace of attempting to intimidate the union through the police complaint.
“We are compelled to inform all that ATSSSAN has received an invitation from the Nigeria Police Headquarters, Abuja, pursuant to complaints lodged by Air Peace in respect of the lawful picketing that was carried out by unions in the aviation sector on August 11, 2026,” Akinjole said.
He said the allegations against the union included conspiracy, threatening violence, inciting disturbance of public peace, assault occasioning harm and conduct likely to cause a breach of peace.
Union warns of possible aviation shutdown
Akinjole said ATSSSAN had decided to honour the police invitation with a sizeable number of its officers and members.
He explained that the union's decision was aimed at presenting its account of the events and challenging what it described as intimidation by the airline.
“11:00 a.m., September 2, 2026, is the time and date the police have set to meet our union in their office in Abuja. We have decided to honour the invitation together with a sizable number of our officers and members, principally to enable us to put the occurrence in the correct perspective and to dare the intimidation by Air Peace,” he said.
However, the union's leadership issued a strong warning about the possible consequences if its officials were detained for an extended period.
“However, if we are held by the police for longer than necessary, we may no longer be able to guarantee the continuation of air operations at the various airports across the country immediately,” Akinjole warned.
The statement raises the prospect of another disruption to air travel if the confrontation between the airline and the unions escalates.
The August 11 picketing had already demonstrated the potential impact of industrial disputes in the aviation sector, where disruption at one major airline can have significant consequences for passengers, airports and other service providers.
The dispute is rooted in both financial and labour concerns, with the unions insisting on issues surrounding the remittance of the statutory Ticket Sales Charge and the right of workers to organise under trade unions.
The police invitation now adds a legal dimension to the dispute, even as the unions maintain that their August 11 action was lawful.
With ATSSSAN scheduled to appear before the police on September 2, attention will now focus on whether the meeting will help de-escalate the dispute or trigger further confrontation between the unions and Air Peace.