Summary
- Tunisia’s president Saied has called for an investigation into Tunisair corruption, focusing on aircraft sales and parts export.
- Scrutiny over fake diplomas in Tunisair’s hiring process has raised concerns about ethical practices.
- This comes as the president initiated audits in all Tunisian public institutions.
The President of the Republic of Tunisia, Kais Saied, has called for investigations into corruption involving the national carrier Tunisair, questioning the sale of an aircraft and parts. Furthermore, the airline is at the center of a recruitment scandal after the head of state discovered irregularities in its hiring processes.
Tunisair corruption probe
As reported by Agence Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP), President Kais Saied met with Tunisair CEO Khaled Chelly earlier this week during a surprise visit to the airline’s hub at Tunis-Carthage International Airport (TUN). Saied expressed concern over the sale of a Tunisian-registered aircraft named Amilcar, which, according to him, left Tunisia in 2017 “without return and without customs authorization.”
Photo: Airbus
The head of state has also called for a probe into the export of aircraft spare parts without their real value. Although initially intended for repair, the disposal of the parts had been to make way for the sale of the national company. On that point, Saied further noted that no public companies would ever be sold or disposed of again.
Despite the parts being sold at undisclosed values, the investigation should seek to uncover more details about the transactions and trace their whereabouts, as cases of Suspected Unapproved Parts (SUP) are a big deal in the aviation industry. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), under its SUP program, notes,
“The FAA is committed to discovering and removing Suspected Unapproved Parts (SUP). The agency has extensive guidance on how suppliers and maintenance facilities can prevent them from being installed. The FAA thoroughly investigates every SUP report. If we determine a part is unapproved, we notify aircraft owners, operators, manufacturers, maintenance organizations, parts suppliers, and distributors.”
Simple Flying has reached out to Tunisair for comment, and we will update the article with any response.
Related
High-Tech Recycling: How Airplane Parts End Up In Laptops
Old Boeing aircraft parts could be in your laptop right now!
The aircraft in question
Regarding the aircraft sale mentioned by the president, planespotters.net shows an Airbus A300-600 named Amilcar, operated by Tunisair for nearly 13 years. It was built in 1988 and first delivered to Emirates as A6-EKC. The aircraft joined Tunisair’s fleet as TS-IPC in September 2001 and was withdrawn from use in April 2014.
It was stored at Tunis Carthage Airport until August 2017, when it officially exited the national carrier’s fleet. It was taken up by California-based Kraake & Associates Inc, with registration N526WS. Planespotters.net shows that it has been stored at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California since then and is partially scrapped.
Other issues with the national carrier
During his visit to Tunis Airport, President Saied also called for eliminating subcontracting within the national company, highlighting that contracted employees receive significantly low salaries while the heads of the subcontracting companies are cashing in larger amounts. He added that anyone who continues to undercut workers will be considered a criminal and brought to justice.
Photo: Marques | Shutterstock
Tunisair’s recruitment process has also come under scrutiny, as 130 airline employees and executives are believed to be holding fake diplomas. The country’s president found irregularities in the hiring process, uncovering unethical and non-transparent practices. An audit revealed that some employees were hired based on loyalty and favoritism at the expense of legitimate skills and academic qualifications. As such, the management of human resources and the use of public funds have been called into question.
ObservAlgerie notes that the scandal was revealed amidst a more extensive recruitment and human resources management audit in all Tunisian public institutions. Launched last September, this approach seeks to clean up public administration and ensure the integrity and competence of public officials.
What do you think of the recent developments within Tunisair? Please share your thoughts in the comments!
