Aviation authority scrutinizes Estonian Air

TALLINN- Estonian Aviation Authority carries out inspections of the national air carrier Estonian Air due to its intention to dismiss a portion of employees, the Estonian Public Broadcasting reports.

The authority has carried out checks of Estonian Air because of concerns related to shrinkage of the number of employees, which, according to the regulator, might hamper safety and emotional state of people working in aviation which is a kind of risk factor for this sphere.

"The primary risk factor is stress on people," said the regulator's flight activity department head, Jaanus Ojamets. "Pilots and crew will have a very hard time finding new work in their profession in Estonia. They will have to start entertaining job offers from abroad, maybe move into a different field. All this can cause too much stress, distraction. All this is of critical importance in aviation."

The Aviation Authority has asked Estonian Air to draw up a risk analysis in connection with the staff changes and to provide an overview of what the company will do to guarantee aviation safety.

As reported, Estonian Air will service five aircraft after implementing the necessary cuts due to difficulties it faces. Currently, Estonian Air operates a ten-plane fleet. Estonian Air plans to cut its staff by 146 people.

Currently 318 people are working in the company. After the redundancies, the company will have 172 employees, out of which 100 of flight crew and the rest of support functions and operational administration, as reported in November.

88 people among pilots and flight attendants and 58 people among commercial and administrative departments will lose jobs. In administrative department the redundancies start immediately and in flight crews when it is decided how to transfer to the use of one type of planes.