TUNISIA: Uniforms Cause Tunisair To Ground Flights Leaving Passengers Stranded

A row between pilots and maintenance workers left Tunisair passengers stranded for hours on Thursday, following a row between pilots and maintenance workers over uniforms.

According to media reports , the country’s national carrier suspended all flights indefinitely after an altercation erupted between the crew of Tunisair plane bound for Paris and technicians at Tunis-Carthage International airport.

A statement form the airline refered to the suspension as “a step to preserve the safety of passengers and its fleet.”

Stranded passengers were angered by the debacle.

“This is a big problem. I was here at 6.30. I want to go to Brussels, the flight was cancelled. Now hopefully, hopefully really to there will go. For such a small thing you know Democracy means that you also have to work, you have to negotiate to get a solution,” said a passenger.

The airline however apologised to the passengers and announced a “partial and progressive resumption” of flights after talks with trade union representatives but, warned of further disruption until the row is fully resolved.

The incident comes at a time that Tunisia’s tourism sector has taken a hard hit since terror attacks two years ago, and some worry that such an incident could drive more tourists away.

According to its website, Tunisair has 29 aircraft that usually operate an average of 47 flights a day to destinations mostly in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

The north Africa county has been struggling to recover since the 2011 revolution.