The Domestic Airports Cargo Agents Association (DACAA) has estimated that Nigeria lost about N7 billion during the two-day NLC and TUC nationwide strike.

The chairman of the board of trustees of DACAA, Ikpe Nkanang, said this in an interview on Friday in Lagos.

Mr Nkanang said about 30 tonnes of cargo were lifted daily across the country’s domestic airports.

He said the cargo volume dumped during the two-day strike could only be imagined.

He said many cargoes had been gathered and made ready for freight on Monday morning before the strike began.

“For those two days, the airlines were not working,  and once the airlines are not working, cargoes cannot move, and it is a great loss to all of us. You needed to see the volume of cargoes that was dumped over those two days; of course, you know we gathered cargoes during the weekend, hoping that by Monday and Tuesday, we would be able to send them out.

“It was a colossal loss to us in the cargo world. It affected our income and, of course, the economy of the country. For those few hours of the strike, the country lost about N7 billion across all local airports,” he said.

According to him, transporting a kilogramme of cargo costs N300.

Mr Nkanang urged the Federal Government to reach an agreement with organised labour before the strike resumes.

The labour unions suspended the strike on Tuesday afternoon to enable continued negotiations on a new minimum wage.

Airport operations were grounded during the strike as aviation unions blocked all access points to domestic terminals.

(NAN)