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As pilots go on strike, thousands of passengers left stranded
Thousands of passengers were left stranded at several airports in the country on Tuesday morning after pilots of the country's largest low-cost carrier, Lion Air, went on strike.
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A Lion Air plane undergoes maintenance at a workshop in Batam, Riau Islands. Thousands of the airline's passengers were left stranded at several airports in the country on Tuesday morning after pilots went on strike. (kompas.com/-)
T
span style="letter-spacing: 0.1px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Thousands of passengers were left stranded a several airports in the country on Tuesday morning after pilots of the country's largest low-cost carrier, Lion Air, went on strike.
At Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, for example, passengers began to build up at Gate 2 from early morning, a result of several delayed flights.
Meanwhile, staff at Hasanudin Airport in Makassar, South Sulawesi, distributed snacks to Lion Air passengers as compensation for their delayed flights.
One Lion Air pilot, who refused to be identified, said more than 300 Lion Air pilots had refused to fly on Tuesday morning because they had not yet received their accommodation fees, which should have been paid between May 4 and 9.
Initially, the company paid the accommodation fees in a way not in line with contracts, which stipulate that the fees must be paid in advance, the pilot said.
"As such, we demanded that they change the system. Now system has changed, and they're late in paying us,” he told The Jakarta Post.
The pilot further said the strike was not merely to protest the late payment of the accommodation fees, but also to express pilots’ disappointment in the management's failure to fulfill its responsibilities.
"The amount of accommodation fees is actually not much, but we are demanding that the company commit to fulfilling our rights," he added, without giving any further details.
Based on information received by the Post, at 11.00 a.m., the pilots agreed to continue operating after the management complied with their demands and paid their accommodation fees.
Separately, Lion Air director Edward Sirait denied the pilots' reason for the flight delays, saying that many pilots and crews were suffering from illness and had administration problems.
"We have now handled the administration issues and flight operations have gone back to normal," Edward said in a press release, adding that several Lion Air flights on Tuesday would continue to face delays. "We, the Lion Air management, apologize for the inconvenience."
Meanwhile, Farid Indra Nugraha, the corporate secretary of state-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura (AP) I, asked Lion Air passengers to "be patient and try to understand the situation".
Farid further claimed that the operator had assisted stranded passengers by providing compensation, as well as contacting Lion Air management regarding the delays. (bbn)
