Two weeks ago, the Latvian airline SmartLynx Airlines, which had been in operation for over 30 years and was recognized last year as the most expensive domestic company in the transport sector, ceased its operations.
SmartLynx has multimillion-dollar debts, and many crew members living abroad are complaining about unpaid salaries. The program "De facto" on LTV reported that the legal protection process proposed by the company, aimed at settling accounts with creditors, is likely to be terminated.
SmartLynx was engaged in aircraft leasing and charter services worldwide. The company's website states that it employs over 500 office and technical staff, as well as 1,300 crew members.
"There were some signals, some signs in the summer, but no one could predict that it would lead to such a turn of events. So yes, this is quite an unexpected turn of events and a significant blow to the aviation industry," said board member of the Latvian Aviation Association Zigmars Vestfalls.
In the last week of November, SmartLynx Airlines offered its employees to voluntarily terminate their employment contracts by signing a confidentiality agreement. It is known that SmartLynx committed to paying salaries, but there may not be enough funds for immediate disbursement. Employees were informed that SmartLynx is considering filing for insolvency. In this case, workers will be able to satisfy their claims from the guarantee fund.
In recent weeks, several crew members of SmartLynx from different countries have posted on the social network LinkedIn about not receiving their salaries, with some going without pay for two whole months. A representative of SmartLynx, Agija Kola-Kancha, stated that the company owes nothing to its employees. When asked about the numerous complaints on LinkedIn, she replied that these individuals are not employees of SmartLynx Airlines and never have been. The program concluded that these individuals were employed not directly but through intermediaries - recruitment companies.
