Ellinair, the Thessaloniki-based airline that has suspended operations since March 2020 due to the crisis caused by the pandemic, has significant debts to its former employees. According to “K”the carrier only owes wages to 50 employees (for time and overtime) of around €1.3 million, which is estimated to be much higher considering Ellinair employed more than 260 people (2019 figures).

According to also document saw “K”, only for accrued wages for the period July-August-September 2021 and for vacation pay for 2020-2021, the debt to all employees was placed in the amount of 449,200 euros. To substantiate his claims, a number of airline employees demanded that the company be held criminally liable and filed a complaint with the labor inspectorate. These actions, according to the information, recently prompted the Thessaloniki District Attorney to initiate a preliminary investigation. This was preceded in October 2021 by the issuance of a payment order against the company by more than 30 employees, in connection with which attempts were made to seize bank accounts. However, in August 2022, by a joint ministerial decision, Ellinair received a financial assistance of 6.8 million euros, an amount that is non-refundable and corresponds to the financial losses – it lost 95% of its turnover – that the airline suffered due to the pandemic from March 18 to March 30. June 2021 This MLA follows the decision of the Commission to pay assistance to Ellinair.

And while it remains unknown whether the airline, which is said to have paid off debts to insurance funds, will pay off debts to workers, and when, it is equally unknown if it will be able to reopen. On December 11, 2022, the General Commercial Register (GEMI) suspended the registration of the company for late publication of the annual financial statements for 2021. The suspension occurred a few weeks ago, and external auditors were appointed to review the financial statements for 2022.

The airline, which according to market information has come under the control of a group of tourism businessmen from Crete, is aiming to launch charter flights. However, one of the many hurdles it will have to overcome is that it does not have a valid air carrier certificate (AOC) and is not on the Civil Aviation Authority’s list of 24 licensed Greek airlines.

Ellinair, as a subsidiary of the Mouzenidis Group, started operations in 2013 to cover the needs of the travel company Mouzenidis Travel in air travel, mainly to and from Russia. In 2015, it added scheduled flights from five bases to 42 destinations to its schedule. “Ellineir is not suspending operations, but is awaiting the resumption of flights. It continues to maintain its aircraft so that it can fly when the special conditions created by this pandemic allow,” the airline said in July 2021.