Once again, Tunisair, the flagship of the Tunisian economy, must find a new CEO, after the blunt ’ousting of Olfa Hamdi, in office since January 4, 2021. In the meantime, the difficulties persist.
Seven weeks and packed. After several days of turbulence, the new CEO of Tunisair, Olfa Hamdi, has been relieved of his responsibilities. Appointed to replace Elyes Mnaki, after several months of vacancy at the head of the company, she took up her post in early January.
Tunisian Minister of Transport and Logistics Moez Chakchouk curtly explained the reasons for her ouster: “She made a lot of mistakes. It did not respect the right of reservation and did not submit to the supervisory authorities.”
The minister blames the young leader for leaking company documents and confidential social media exchanges and refusing to attend meetings demanded by the unions.
Olfa Hamdi had been recruited with the mandate to extricate the airline from its financial difficulties. Which had started even before the onset of the health crisis. Tunisair, as we know, faces a bloated workforce and the consequences of ineffective strategic choices.
On February 19, hundreds of Tunisair employees decided to go on strike at airports across the country to protest against the deteriorating financial situation of the company. For its part, TAV Tunisie, the company that operates airports in Tunisia, had frozen the bank accounts that pay the salaries of Tunisair employees, straining the payments of some 7,800 workers.
Noureddine Taboubi, Secretary General of the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT) justified: “The CEO of Tunisair, although I have nothing against her, represents the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the State by meeting the ambassador of Turkey and the United Kingdom. Tunisair’s debts are piling up and the workers have not received their salaries for two months.”
Responding on Facebook, on his page littered with documents and stamped letterhead from Tunisair, Hamdi hit back at the UGTT boss, provocatively claiming that “the whole government has been fired” by his actions!
A rescue plan in the pipeline!
The young woman has carved out a solid reputation for herself for frankness, attracting the sympathy of Tunisians, but also the wrath of her hierarchy and the powerful UGTT, which she does not hesitate to attack head on.
Among the criticisms leveled at Olfa Hamdi is the creation in the United States of a Center for Strategic Studies on Tunisia, with the support of an American lobbying firm. This mix of genres, revealed by a site specializing in influence lobbies, has not failed to react in Tunisia.
The future ex-CEO reacted strongly: “I was going to announce today the rescue strategy for Tunisair and this, following the government’s refusal to save the company!” “Referring to the reproaches on her communication, she comments:” Mr. Minister, transparency is a principle enshrined in Articles 10 and 15 of the Constitution. Olfa Hamdi has promised in a post on her Facebook account that she intends to enlighten public opinion on the matter, arguing that “the current system is a graveyard for young people and women.”
In 2020, Tunisair recorded a 71% drop in passenger traffic. The Tunisian company employs nearly 3,400 workers. It saw its income decrease to less than a third of that of 2019, dropping from 1.596 billion dinars (485 million euros) to 483.17 million dinars (147 million euros). As of December 31, 2020, its debt amounted to 967 million dinars (294 million euros).
A Tunisair plane parked on a Tunis-Carthage International tarmac in Tunis (October 15, 2015).
The loss of its CEO will do Tunisair a disservice. At the start of 2020, before the epidemic, the company had 28 planes, or 19 planes in service, including 14 A320 family planes, two A330s and three 737s. In January 2021, there were only 11 planes left in service, or even less. -being seven according to some industrial sources, and four according to the UGTT!
Minister Moez Chakchouk is optimistic, in a matter which he nevertheless describes as “a challenge”. The first challenge is to find a new CEO. A meeting is scheduled with the UGTT to review the company’s situation.
For his part, René Trabelsi declined the proposal to become the new CEO of the company; the former tourism minister, who fell seriously ill last year with Covid-19, cited health reasons.
According to Moez Chakchouk, the sequestration of Tunisair’s bank accounts was canceled the week of February 15. The government has paid 30 million dinars in emergency to pay the suppliers of the company, while some of its subsidiaries are struggling to pay salaries.
