The current situation of Blue Air low cost air operator is "the chronicle of an announced bankruptcy", the culprits being primarily the company's shareholders, who "have no respect for the passengers", the first vice-president of the National Association of Travel Agencies (ANAT), Alin Burcea told AGERPRES in an interview.
According to the data presented by Alin Burcea, the losses incurred by the tourism operators, who were forced to buy other plane tickets for the repatriation of tourists or to honor the contracts, amount to approximately 3 million euros.
The ANAT official believes that such situations can be avoided through the establishment of a guarantee fund for passengers, namely the collection of a small amount of 0.5 euros for each flight, so that they are compensated in such situations. He believes that the same type of guarantee fund should be established at the level of travel agencies so that tourists can recover all their money in case operators in the field go bankrupt.
He said he wants the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, or the Prime Minister's Control Body to conduct an investigation in the case of the flights canceled by Blue Air, told Agerpres.
ANAT would also like to see the amendment of Government Ordinance no. 2 of 2018 by which travel service packages are regulated, Burcea stating that it is not normal for travel agencies to be responsible for a possible bankruptcy of an airline.
According to Alin Burcea, the culprits for the situation at Blue Air are, first of all, the shareholders, followed by the Romanian state, that has two representatives in the Board of Directors and who knew about the company's problems.