CY: situation has never been as critical

The situation in Cyprus Airways has never been as critical as it is today, its chairman said on Wednesday in a letter to staff.

Makis Constantinides said the loss-making course had not been halted, as was the objective of the latest restructuring plan, while productivity in relation to competitiveness continued to be at a low level.

“Perhaps never in the past, was the situation as critical as it is today,” the CY chairman said.

Authorities are trying to sell the carrier but efforts appear to be hampered by an EU probe into a €73 million rescue package the company received in 2012, and a €31.3 million capital increase in early 2013.

The EU Commission is set to decide whether CY has to return that money to the state, which would result in the company shutting down.

“If the decision is negative, the possibility of survival is dramatically diminished,” Constantinides said.

He said the companies interested in acquiring the airline would soon be asked to submit their final bids.

The chairman pledged that the board would do everything in its power to ensure that the outcome would be the best possible under the circumstances both as regards the negotiations with potential investors and safeguarding the personnel.

“We are doing our best to raise the company’s value to the highest possible level in light of the ongoing procedures,” Constantinides said.

 

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.