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We often agree with the Employers and Industrialists’ Federation, OEV, especially on the issue of better accountability of public funds. However, this organisation seems to have crossed the thin line of impartiality and thrown its support behind Cyprus Airways’ arguments that Cyprus is too small to sustain two airlines and that no more government aid should be afforded to Eurocypria.
Who gave them the right to determine if Cyprus will implement an open-skies policy or if we will all remain hostage to the whims of militant unions who try to control Cyprus Airways?
A debate has been forced into the public arena on whether former charter subsidiary Eurocypria should exist at all, with a handful of people saying that only the troubled national carrier has the God-given right to this privilege.
Will OEV back down if the independent study on air transport currently underway concludes that Cyprus Airways, too, is not viable?
At the time of Eurocypria’s creation more than a decade ago everyone hailed the decision as the best thing happened to our tourism industry, with the CAIR Group cementing its grip over air travel in and out of Cyprus. But when the charter subsidiary was gradually taking business away from the scheduled airline due to flexibility and lower operating costs, trade unions were the first to raise their concern.
Only when Eurocypria broke away from its parent did it have new opportunities to spread its wings and prosper, earning Cyprus nearly 150,000 tourists a year, while operating from northern Europe as an alternative carrier to the Greek isles.
A short stint of poor management seems to have been replaced by the new executive team’s desire to return Eurocypria to profit, and with it, increased tourism to Cyprus.
At a time when every single tourist arrival makes a difference in an effort to resuscitate the flow of cash-paying holidaymakers, organisations such as OEV should not be duped into the one-sided arguments that seem to have ulterior motives.
Surely, OEV should have been at the forefront calling for free competition, allowing for Cyprus-based airlines to extend their reach to new markets, earning more for the island’s economy and securing jobs for many in the tourism industry and the parallel support services.
It seems ironic that OEV is concerned about the state cuts in public research and development spending by 60%, yet wants to scupper government plans to financially support Eurocypria that would modernise the airline and ultimately help boost desperately needed income for our tourist industry.
