By Jean Christou
CYPRUS Airways (CY) appeared to be heading for a new crisis yesterday as relations between staff and management sank to a new low.Developments in the wake of Sunday’s series of flight delays — which affected some 600 passengers — indicate the airline and its pilots are heading for a new bust-up.Commenting on the developments, one industry insider said yesterday: “They have all gone mad”.An announcement by pilots’ union Pasipy said that it has initiated a civil action against Cyprus Airways and its spokesman Tassos Angelis for slander.The situation is also being compounded by a developing row between those said to be involved in creating problems for the company and the remainder of the airline’s staff.A statement issued by a group of fed-up CY employees condemned the behaviour of some of their colleagues as “selfish and irresponsible”.It accused a faction within the staff of jeopardising the future of the some 2,000 families employed by the airline, and called on those “who are part of the comedy” to stop.”We would like to express our frustration about the irresponsible behaviour of certain colleagues, pilots and cabin crew who by their actions embarrass not only themselves but also their profession by their selfishness,” the statement said. “Their colleagues’ patience has run out, and now they face the anger of those who are not ready to sink to such depths of irresponsibility.”While no one has said outright that pilots or cabin crew were behind Sunday’s delays, which were initially due to technical problems, it has been strongly hinted that both parties exacerbated the situation by refusing to work extra time and by stand-by stewards calling in sick. Pilots have denied this was the case.But as many as 20 cabin crew members are said to have called in sick over the past several days, and the allegation is that the pilots — who recently had a spate of illnesses themselves — were behind the cabin crews’ actions.Another incident yesterday saw a delay of two hours on the Larnaca-Athens flight, again due to technical difficulties, Pasipy said in a statement, adding that its members were not to blame.Pasipy, which staged two strikes last month in a row over promotions in the national carrier’s charter firm Eurocypria, last week warned that if the government does not fulfil its promise to go ahead with talks on the future of the airline, its members would be prepared to strike again.An investigation is under way into Sunday’s delays, Cyprus Airways said yesterday, but declined to comment further.But Pasipy said that instead of launching an investigation into the actions of staff, that CY should launch an investigation into why the company’s planes keep breaking down. Not for the first time, it questioned the airline’s safety standards.In their statement Pasipy blamed management for CY’s ills, blaming spokesman Angelis in particular.”Tassos Angelis is trying to damage the pilots and Pasipy chairman Chris Christodoulou with his information campaign directed mainly at young journalists by using them to carry out his catastrophic work,” the union said.It said the union has already initiated legal action against Angelis and the company. “It’s time now for the public to see the dirty game which is being played and which the public is paying for.”Communications and Works Minister Leontios Ierodiaconou also joined the fray yesterday, warning that the government would speed up air liberalisation with Greece, one of only three profitable CY routes.Ierodiaconou said that the latest series of incidents involving Cyprus Airways staff was damaging both to the future of the company and to the island’s tourism.”An investigation is being carried out and I can’t take a position, but I can say is that an unhealthy situation exists in the company,” he said.The Minister repeated the cabinet’s decision to speed up air liberalisation, particularly from Greece which is currently operated by means of a bilateral agreement between CY and Olympic Airways.”We will soon start negotiations with the Greek government and when other airlines are allowed to fly it is expected that fares will be reduced,” he said.Full liberalisation is not expected to come about until Cyprus joins the EU, it is hoped in 2002. As long as it is not constantly plagued by industrial unrest, this would give CY time to become more competitive.
