THE CYPRUS Airways spokesman yesterday rushed to defend the airline, after delays led to two passenger outbursts in as many days.
In addition to Saturday morning’s incident caused by a number of passengers after a five-hour delay, mayhem was caused at Larnaca Airport on Sunday night when a flight was delayed by three hours and 45 minutes – “due to technical problems”.
CY spokesman Kyriacos Kyriacou yesterday said it was not unusual at this time of year – when the airline’s fleet is being used the most – for technical problems to arise in some of the planes. He stressed that these problems were handled with special sensitivity and professionalism, so that flight safety was not being put at risk.
Kyriacou added that CY would like to assure its passengers that the airline was working hard to ensure the best possible service in each of its flights, in conditions of absolute safety.
Unfortunately, he said, such problems were accompanied by delays, which inevitably would distress passengers.
Referring to Saturday morning’s incident – a number of passengers demanded to disembark a CY plane, refusing to fly as it was previously experiencing technical problems – Kyriacou said it was sad that safety regulations had not been adhered to by a section of passengers.
“Demonstrations of disobedience are unacceptable, especially at a time when the pilots are trying to prepare the aircraft [for take-off]”, Kyriacou told reports. “In the future, the company will not tolerate behaviour, which could possibly affect the whole procedure negatively,” he said, adding that the company would start taking legal measures against those who do so. “The company will not hesitate to report such cases to the police.”
Kyriacou called on passengers to remain calm, trust and follow the captain’s indications, while resting assured that planes will not take off unless all the necessary safety conditions are secured.
Regarding Sunday night’s incident, which saw a flight to Damascus delayed by almost four hours – the reason again being a technical problem – Kyriacou said the captain had spotted a fault in the plane’s engine and ordered the passengers to disembark. They then had to wait for another plane to fly in, eventually leaving at 15 minutes past midnight.
“The issue is that there are procedures and a lot of professionalism by the airlines staff, in order to ensure that passengers are always transported to their destinations safely,” the CY spokesman concluded.
