Virgin Atlantic Airways slammed with N5bn lawsuit by 20 sacked cabin crew.

The sacked staff are asking the court to restrain the respondents from laying them off or giving effects to the notice of termination of employment served on them pending the hearing and determination of the suit. They also want the court to suspend the notice of termination of employment pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit and to direct the airway to pay them the sum of N5billion as damages for the act of discrimination against them.

They’re all laid off on November 30, 2015 because the provision of cultural expertise, which the airline says was the primary purpose of employing them, was no longer required on its Lagos-London route. However, one of the sacked staff averred that they’re never informed that the sole reason for their employment was to provide cultural expertise and that no survey was ever conducted which revealed that the cultural expertise is no longer required.


He averred that the airline has consistently taken actions which are discriminatory, oppressive, and detrimental to their interests as Nigerians and Nigeria as a country, so its intention to terminate their employment was based solely on their race, color, and social extraction.