Could the already burdened national carrier face a premature death if the strike goes ahead?
As we have already reported, pilots, stewards/stewardesses and aeronautical engineers employed by Croatia Airlines are set to go on strike on August the 8th at 06:00.
Croatia Airlines management has warned staff to think and reflect very carefully on the potential consequences of entering into a strike at this delicate time, at the very height of the tourist season. Warning of incomprehensible daily financial losses, the negative effects of demands put forward by the trade unions, and the enormous loss of trust and confidence in the company from its users, it seems that unhappy staff will ensure the strike goes ahead regardless.
The strike was originally planned for last month, but a delay occurred as the government had appeared to listen to the company’s numerous demands. However, it is now being claimed that the government’s end of the bargain was in fact not upheld, resulting in a strike taking place at perhaps an even more inconvenient time, as if mid-July wasn’t bad enough.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 4th of August, 2018, after this, the second strike, was announced as staff requests failed to be met, N1‘s guest was respected airline analyst Alen Šćuric, who discussed the state of Croatia’s national carrier:
“This is a tragedy, we’re talking about aviation which is the motor of economic development, especially tourism, which is the number one in net national income. At this time, passengers don’t have any alternatives. How will these large amounts of travellers get to their destination? Croatia Airlines is in a financially disastrous state, barely surviving now. With this strike, it will be difficult to survive. The strike will kill the company, especially after the fiasco that took place in May. Every tenth flight was cancelled, and they were still flying other people’s aircraft. When this [strike] happens now, it’s something that’s far greater than what the daily [financial] losses will be.”
