TAROM Flight to Amman, Jordan, Scheduled to Depart at 00:45 on July 8th, Suddenly Cancelled Without Explanation, Leaving Passengers Stranded at the Airport. It Was the First in a Series of Events That Disrupted Bucharest Airport Again.
Fifteen more TAROM flights were canceled, according to Flight Radar monitoring. The cause was an undeclared strike by flight personnel, severely affecting thousands of the company’s customers.
This is the third major crisis to hit Otopeni Airport in less than two weeks, following the breakdown of the air conditioning system and the baggage conveyor belts.
Sorin Grindeanu, the minister in charge, has no solutions to the serious problems plaguing the aviation transport sector in Romania.
"... TAROM announces the cancellation of some flights on July 8, 2024, due to the temporary unavailability of flight crew members," stated a company press release.
"In accordance with international aviation regulations and strict internal flight safety policies, each of the respective flights was canceled because a member of the crew of each aircraft declared themselves <unfit to fly>," specified the TAROM management.
"The individual decisions of the pilots were made in accordance with current regulations to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers and crew," the statement further read.
A Paradoxical Situation
In reality, travelers were forced to endure a spontaneous strike by the pilots, dissatisfied with their salaries.
In order to continuously operate an aircraft, a company needs five complete crews that work rhythmically, respecting rest times, days off, holidays, and, if necessary, sick leaves, explained an industry expert familiar with the situation at TAROM and who wished to remain anonymous to spotmedia.ro.
"TAROM is far from this ideal," added the specialist.
The company is in a paradoxical situation. It has started to attract passengers and ticket requests for both scheduled and charter flights for travel agencies, but is facing a severe personnel crisis.
You've filled TAROM with cronies and incompetents and then covered the losses with taxpayers' money. All that's left is for a tragedy to occur to put the cherry on top
Comment on Minister Sorin Grindeanu's Facebook page
"I believe the pilots have chosen an opportune moment, the holiday season, and have pushed for salary increases to be negotiated," further explained the expert consulted by spotmedia.ro.
At the end of April, the European Commission approved a €95.3 million aid package for TAROM to restructure the company, but the implementation of the restructuring plan led to the crisis on July 8.
"The aid contributes to the common objective of ensuring regional connectivity for Romanian citizens and businesses, allowing TAROM to restore its viability by implementing its restructuring plan," announced representatives of the European Commission at the approval of the significant financial aid.
The funds were conditioned by the company's restructuring and the acquisition of new aircraft to renew the TAROM fleet, but the relaunch process went awry, with the Ministry of Transport unable to implement it.
The Failed Restructuring
TAROM has a long history of corruption, nepotism, and political affiliations.
Nine years ago, in a rare public statement, a TAROM director stated that 40% of the company's employees are relatives. The information shocked the public. It was not denied, and subsequent measures failed to rectify TAROM's situation, leading to an even greater crisis.
"The procedures within the company are terrible, the processes are confusing, there are structures that simply do not know what to do, there are parallel structures dealing with the same tasks, even in procurement. In the IT department, there are four parallel structures that are unaware of each other and, worse, interfere with each other," said Tiberiu Țiclea, TAROM's administrative director at the time.
Shortly after the European Commission's approval of the aid, Sorin Grindeanu, the Minister of Transport, announced that the restructuring of TAROM would lead to the dismissal of at least half of the employees.
"A company the size of TAROM, which is based on sound economic principles, normally has around 500, 600 employees, 90% of whom are flight personnel. We have double that," stated the minister, as reported by Agerpres.
"With this aid from the European Commission, we need to enter a phase of restructuring, and we are open to any proposals that will establish TAROM on solid economic principles. [...] We are seeking to save this company, to find any solutions, including partnerships that would lead to this happy scenario. We have looked for this, even when I was with the Prime Minister in the Gulf area... We have a joint committee in Bucharest and we are trying to find solutions for TAROM," added Sorin Grindeanu, as cited by the source.
However, neither the minister nor Marcel Ciolacu, mentioned by the official in the statement, have found solutions for the company's restructuring, leading it back into a major deadlock.
A Long Way from Words to Actions
Around 2,000 passengers were affected by the 16 canceled flights, resulting in a company loss of over a million dollars, according to a compensation calculation that should be paid by the company to those affected by the flight cancellations.
Romania is paralyzed when it comes to transportation... Why does this ministry still exist if no one recognizes your authority? We are too tolerant a people to endure these humiliations. We are becoming the shame of Europe
Comment on Minister Sorin Grindeanu's Facebook page
TAROM's bankruptcy would be a political disaster for the PSD. Marcel Ciolacu and Sorin Grindeanu, the party's leaders, have repeatedly promised to save the company, but bridging the gap between words and actions is a long journey.
"I have requested the management of TAROM to take urgent measures for the current situation! The management team, selected according to the Corporate Management Ordinance, has all the legal levers to make the necessary administrative decisions to avoid such blockages and prevent their recurrence," reacted Sorin Grindeanu to the new crisis at Otopeni Airport.
Thousands of passengers found themselves on July 8th suddenly facing their flights being canceled without any prior notice.
TAROM pilots refused to take off, using the opportunity to declare themselves unfit to fly, forcing the company's management to negotiate salary increases under pressure.
After 3:00 PM, flights resumed their schedules but are experiencing significant delays due to the initial cancellations.
In Search of Miraculous Solutions
Sorin Grindeanu has urged the company's management to meet the demands of the flight crew and to begin layoffs in other departments of the company.
However, it is a complex process as part of the flight crew has influence in other areas through the "family ties" mentioned by the former TAROM director.
"Thousands of people are affected, some are losing connections. General chaos at Otopeni and no announced measures, just words. You are the ones who put cronies there at TAROM," wrote a dissatisfied individual on Minister Grindeanu's Facebook page.
The crisis in Romanian air transport has already affected hundreds of thousands of passengers in recent times, although we have not yet reached the peak demand on infrastructure, only being in the first half of summer.