Pilots confront TAP over plane change on Luxembourg-Lisbon flight

Dand according to a communication to which Lusa had access, SPAC informed the carrier that it had received “information according to which on 31 July LIS – LUX – LIS had an equipment change from A321 to A320”.

According to the same document, SPAC mentioned that “on the section from Luxembourg to Lisbon, this change to a smaller aircraft made it impossible to carry all passengers and cargo, resulting in lost revenue and flight delays.”

According to SPAC, “this change of equipment was caused by a lack of crew,” adding that the passengers’ “discontent” was “visible and notorious.”

“Likewise, we are aware of the invitations made by the stopover service to pilots for off-duty departures,” reads the same note.

The pilots also say that in the recent past “the shipment of cargo in the cabin of at least one cargo flight has been canceled.”

“We would like to verify the accuracy of such information and, if confirmed, find out if and how the company intends to avoid similar situations in the future,” questioned SPAC.

When asked by Luz, TAP explained that his work “requires constant adjustments to optimize for many variables, including the expected occupancy of the aircraft, as well as the equipment and crews available.”

The airline also stressed that “although this was not the cause of the above episode, in terms of human resource management and appropriate flight allocation, TAP emphasizes that due to the pandemic – long-term preventive isolation and vaccination is in progress. making it impossible to fly within 48 hours of vaccination, the number of unplanned absences increased, which affected operations, and TAP tried to meet this challenge as efficiently as possible. ”

On July 17, the TAP pilots, at a meeting convened by the SPAC, decided not to accept flights during breaks and vacations, voting overwhelmingly in favor of the union proposal in this regard.

The company’s meeting, convened by SPAC, was intended to discuss the announced collective layoff of 35 professionals and decide whether to take vacations and weekends.

In a notice sent to members, to which Lusa had access, the union explained that “at the explicit and urgent request of the SPAC management and in view of the particular importance of the work moment” that is taking place, the Chairman of the General Meeting has called a meeting of TAP Air Portugal pilots.

SPAC urged members not to fly during breaks and vacations and not “agree to any activity that is not planned” in order to fight TAP’s collective firing.

Nonetheless, unions representing the company’s employees will be pushing forward lawsuits to halt the company’s collective layoffs, which the company began on Monday and encompasses 124 workers, several structures announced.

TAP has begun the collective layoff of 124 workers, including 35 pilots, 28 flight attendants, 38 maintenance and engineering workers and 23 employees at headquarters.

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