Assistance to passengers on cancelled flights due to Jat Tehnika strike

Jat Airways today secured departure of the charter JU1244/45 flight to Donetsk with an aircraft of Aviogenex, which has its own licensed mechanic. The same aircraft would then carry passengers to Moscow. Passengers on other lines will be provided with an opportunity to travel on the first available flights to desired destinations.

The latest events involving Jat Airways and Jat Tehnika are further proof that the best solution is for Jat to have its own line aircraft technical maintenance and shows just how erroneous was the political decision several years ago to detach Jat Tehnika and make it a separate enterprise. Along with apologies for the problems they are experiencing as a result of the strike, Jat Airways - by undertaking various measures - is doing all it can to assist passengers.

Passengers on last night's flight bound for Monastir have boarded a Tunis Air aircraft. Passengers on the flights to Sarajevo, Skoplje and Thessaloniki were either enabled to travel to their destinations with other air carriers or were put up in Belgrade hotels. Under the standard procedure of international air companies, Jat Airways will enable transfer of passengers to the next Jat flight, or, if this is not possible, passengers will choose whether to fly with another air company with which Jat Airways has an existing agreement or agree to be refunded.

Passengers that have already checked in, that is handed over their luggage, and who are in transit, will be provided with hotel accommodation, which is beyond that which Jat Airways is obliged to do, whereas Jat Airways is unfortunately not in a position to cover the cost of hotel accommodation, meals and transportation between airport and hotel for local passengers and those passengers who have not checked in. The Jat Airways Company most strongly condemns the irresponsible conduct of Jat Tehnika and sets out that those responsible at Jat Tehnika will have to suffer the consequences for damage incurred by the strike.

The fact that Jat Tehnika rose to a monopolistic position has resulted in Jat Airways being continually exposed to blackmail and different-type unrealizable demands from this enterprise. A commercial agreement on maintenance was in late August signed with Jat Tehnika, as opposed the previous years when this enterprise was paid a monthly sum regardless of the volume of work it performed. The debt Jat Tehnika invokes and cites as the reason for the work stoppage pertains to this previous agreement.

Jat Tehnika, oversized and unsoundly organized enterprise with several thousand employees, mostly serves Jat Airways' aircraft, as some 90 percent of its activities are carried out with Jat. Jat Tehnika's irresponsible conduct will not endanger the implementation of the Jat consolidation plan that the national air carrier recently submitted to the Serbian Government that envisages the 16-aircraft fleet to carry in the course of next year at least one and half million passengers and record positive business results as well as establish its own line aircraft technical maintenance that would preclude repetition of cases such as this one. Flights are cancelled until further notice, and Jat Airways will keep informing passengers about all fresh developments on a regular basis.