TAP estimated losses of EUR 70 million with pilots’ strike – publico

                 

                         
                     

                         
                     

                         

                 

 
                         

TAP estimated a loss of around € 70 million to ten-day strike called by pilots materialize. A hole in the airline’s accounts that will be dramatic at this stage, since there’s only one month for submission of bids.

                     

                          In addition to the loss of revenue, the airline would still high costs of rescheduling of flights, the chartering of aircraft and crews to third parties and, above all, with passenger handling. This after 2014 was already a record year of protests that shook the results, culminating in losses of 46.4 million euros. In the TAP group, which includes other businesses besides aviation, losses reached 85.1 million.

The decision of the pilots was known on Wednesday, in the early evening, and provides for the conducting a strike between 1 and 10 May. The Civil Aviation Pilots’ Union (SPAC) calls for the return of seniority suspended since 2011 and a share in the capital of TAP.

Although the union have left a door open to the possibility of cancellation of the stoppage, this scenario seems far away, as the government has no margin to meet the demands of the pilots.

That’s what Economy Minister made it clear on Wednesday, told BBC1. Pires de Lima stressed that the executive is willing to meet only the points of the sealed agreement in December with nine unions, which led to the cancellation of a strike four days between Christmas and the New Year.

But this agreement, signed also by the SPAC, did not provide any of the claims that pilots now do. “Of course I’m surprised. We did not expect this position the pilots’ union, which contradicts what was written and signed by representatives of trade unions of pilots in the last week of 2014,” the minister said, quoted by Lusa agency.

Also the prime minister reacted to the SPAC’s decision, saying he regretted “deeply this situation.” Passos Coelho rejected comment on whether the government intends to move towards a civil requisition, as happened before the strike December, but hinted that will be unlikely to take this step.

The civil requisition can only be approved “in very exceptional circumstances”, as was keen to stress, quoted by Lusa. And if the stoppage between Christmas and the New Year filled these requirements, the harder it is to justify a decision as muscled before a strike in May.

Passos Coelho said he hoped “that is the pilots’ union reach power rethink this attitude”, since the decision of the pilots can have “a perverse consequence on the result than expected” the privatization of TAP.

The government intends to sell 66% of the group by the end of the first half, but, as in 2012, the outcome is unpredictable . Also on Wednesday, one of the investors, the Spanish Globalia, announced they gave up the operation result of high debt TAP.