Collapsed carrier Bahrain Air has failed to honour about 22,000 customer tickets as a result of its closure, a former senior employee told Gulf Daily News.
The airline went into voluntary liquidation in February,
claiming it could not pay back financial losses accrued in relation to “the unstable political and security
situation in Bahrain”.
Its closure
was immediate, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded and tickets dated after
February 12 invalid.
At the time,
the airline told passengers to book new flights
with another carrier.
Customers
could lodge a refund claim via the airline’s liquidators, but with millions of
dollars owed to the government it is unlikely refunds will be issued.
“Twenty-two thousand tickets were sold and processed
before the liquidation and were either never used or partly used, meaning
someone didn’t use the return ticket,” former Bahrain Air ground services
senior manager Salah Ahmed Abdulla was quoted by the Bahraini newspaper as saying.
“That money was collected, but resources were not
used since they were never honoured. Where is that money?”
About 300 employees are fighting for their
entitlements after abruptly losing their positions.
Gulf Daily News said 34 former staff have taken legal action against
the airline, demanding compensation for losing their jobs.
A case was lodged in the High Civil Court by a group
including pilots, cabin crew, administrative employees, sales staff and
management.
A further 31 former employees planned to file a similar
case, Abdulla told the newspaper.
Expatriates were particularly concerned because they did
not want to leave the country until they received their severance package.
“Now the airline industry is not hiring and they
cannot travel or work because of visa restrictions related to debt,”
Abdulla said.
Bahrain Air claims it was forced to close down because while it had received no compensation from
a government decision to limit its activities, it was at the same time being
chased to make immediate payment on past government debts.
It also blamed
the country’s minister of transportation, Kamal Ahmed – also a board member of
competitor Gulf Air – for failing to help find a solution to the crisis.
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