Massive turmoil at Air Mauritius this weekend: three pilots have been dismissed with immediate effect after calling in sick for duty.
On 5 October, 11 pilots called in sick. The airline was forced to cancel four flights, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded.
One of the three dismissed pilots is Patrick Hofman, an ex-Sobelair captain. He received a letter from the Prime Minister and the Immigration Office, ending his permanent resident permit with immediate effect and asking him to leave Mauritius by the first flight.
The Belgian pilot was able to get a court injunction postponing his “deportation”, but a police car is on standby in front of his house.
An online petition has started to have the three unfairly dismissed pilots reintegrated into the airline. According to the online petition:
The pilots of Air Mauritius have been operating at their maximum legal and physical limits due to a severe shortage of pilots. Furthermore, it seems that the morale of these pilots has been at its lowest in view of persistent attempt by Air Mauritius to baffle their employment rights. But nothing justifies the fact of ending the contract of 3 pilots who have always work at their ultimate best during several years (more than 15 years).
each of them has families with kids and it is unfair to treat them like this.
