The President of the Republic, Kaïs Saïed, received, Tuesday afternoon at the Palais de Carthage, the Minister of Transport, Rachid Amri, as well as Halima Khawaja, in charge of the general management of Tunisair.
During this meeting, he underlined the imperative to take urgent measures at all levels to straighten the national company.
“Neither the conditions on the planes nor the punctuality of thefts are acceptable,” lambashed the head of state, adding that “the services can be much better”.
He also pointed out the degradation of the fleet, from 24 to only 10 aircraft, and abnormally long maintenance deadlines: “A technical control that usually lasts ten days in certain manufacturers is more than 123 days in Tunisia, generating colossal financial losses. »»
These losses, estimated at several tens of billions of dinars, would have allowed the acquisition of new planes, he said.
Saïed also denounced the recruitments made “by favoritism and clientelism, without real necessity”, thus aggravating the situation of the company.
Regarding the future of Tunisair and the strategic infrastructure of the country, the president firmly rejected any sale of Tunis-Carthage Airport, claiming that he is coveted by lobbies, in the same way as several abandoned public sites, such as the El Menzah Olympic Complex, the Chedly Zouiten stadium or the Belvedere park.
He concluded by calling for the development of a global rescue plan to give Tunisair his prestige of yesteryear, both on the ground and in the air.
