Cyprus Airways pilots have announced they will go on a five-hour strike on Saturday, July 21, which will affect about 1200 passengers on flights to and from Paris, London, Manchester and Athens.
The troubled state-controlled airline’s management has condemned the strike, called to protest “the violation of the terms of the collective agreement,†according to the pilots’ trade union PASIPI.
CAIR has assured passengers that it would do all it can to make alternative arrangements for the passengers concern to avoid any hassle.
PASIPI President Andreas Georgiou maintains that for the past two years the loss-making national carrier “has been violating unilaterally the collective agreement,†which he said must be respected.
He told the Cyprus News Agency that the decision to take measures against the violation of the agreement was taken unanimously at the trade union’s AGM four months ago.
“Over the past four months, we have given the new executive chairman of Cyprus Airways, Kikis Lazarides, a grace period to try and solve this problem, but we cannot wait any longer,†Georgiou added.
He also said that the restructuring plan aimed to secure the viability of the airline does not meet this target but it calls on the airline’s employees to pay the price for failed attempts to render the national carrier profitable.
A press release, issued by the airline, expresses “surprise†and condemns “the unexpected strikeâ€, noting that this takes place during the peak summer tourist period.
“Such moves achieve nothing but causing a lot of hassle to passengers and affect adversely the prestige of the airline, resulting in additional financial crisis,†the press release added.
The airline also points out that the company’s financial situation is such that it cannot at this stage give its staff any new benefits, and this, it says, has been explained repeatedly to PASIPI.
Cyprus Airways notes that already it is suffering losses because many passengers have begun cancelling their reservations due to the strike measures.
The European Commission eventually gave its approval in February to a crucial CYP 70 mln (EUR 120 mln) loan that CAIR needed from the Cyprus government.
The government-guaranteed loan, approved last year and of a ‘restructuring plan’ for CAIR, subject to the Commission’s approval, was secured from the Hellnic Bank. The gradual repayment of a previous CYP 55 mln (EUR 95 mln) loan to the airline, part of a drastic ‘rescue plan’, is a sine qua non.
In late 2006, CAIR sold Eurocypria to the government for CYP 13.4 mln (EUR 23 mln) in a move to ensure that Cyprus would have an airline even if CAIR was forced to terminate its operations. The Commission did not regard the sale of Eurocypria as an indirect subsidy.
