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Nok Air Pilots Stage a Strike, Airline Cancels 8 Flights on Sunday
15th Feb 2016
About 1,000 passengers were left stranded on the Don Mueang Airport after several pilots of the budget airline Nok Air decided to walk out on Sunday evening. This resulted in 8 local flights being cancelled yesterday.
The airline cancelled flights to Phuket, Surat Thani, Hat Yai, Chiang Mai, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Khon Khaen, Ubon Ratchathani and Phitsanuloke. All of these flights were supposed to take off from Don Mueang at 3:00 PM.
According to Patee Sarasin, Nok Air chief exec, the pilots who decided to go on a strike were unhappy about the latest increased audit standards for the flight operations. Some of the pilots, he said, failed to meet the new criteria that are now in line with the line of EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency).
Speaking to the local TV station, Mr. Patee said:
“Nok Air has contacted other airlines that fly on the same routes such as Thai Smile Airways, Thai Lion Air and Thai AirAsia, but all of them are full. I am confident that there will be no problem with flight cancellations tomorrow.”
Nok Air management will discuss what action it will take against the pilots on Monday, Patee said. According to him, the strike was completely unacceptable.
Initially, the airline didn’t give a reason for cancelling the flights and the passengers waiting for them were only told that there are “technical problems” and that it would offer refunds.
However, many of the passengers either didn’t receive the announcement or were unhappy with it and they expressed their dissatisfaction via social media.
One passenger wrote on his Facebook profile:
“Phuket-Bangkok flight at 10:45 PM has been cancelled and there is no alert message. I have to work early tomorrow morning. What should I do? It is too late to book a bus, but traveling 12 hours by bus is terrible.”
Patch Chancheroen, Don Mueang Airport Director describe the entire situation at the airport as of 9:00 PM as “still chaotic” and said that the carrier arranged accommodation for the stranded passengers, but was unable to find them alternative flights.
Thailand’s Deputy Transport Minister Ormsin Chivapruck has also called a meeting of all domestic airline operators to try and find a way to solve the problem and make sure it does not happen again in the future.
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