
An EgyptAir airline crew member walks near an EgyptAir plane on the runway at Cairo Airport, September 5, 2013 (Photo: Reuters)
EgyptAir flights took off as scheduled on Thursday, despite resignations being submitted by 224 pilots, the Egyptian Pilots Association said.
The resignations, submitted on Wednesday, came as an objection to a newly-issued financial charter, and to demand raises to salaries that have been fixed since 2006, spokesman of the association Ali Roshdy told Ahram Online.
"We are committed to our flight schedule until a final decision is reached," he said.
Negotiations with the EgyptAir's administration have been ongoing since the issuance of the financial charter six months ago, with the deadline ending on Tuesday, Roshdy said.
However, pilots escalated their actions after the administration failed to heed any of their demands.
The demands include a 25 percent pay raise for the nine years during which their salaries were fixed, and another 25 percent gradual raise over the next fiscal year.
"We do not want to leave EgyptAir, it's our home," Roshdy said.
"But [our actions] are a tool to make them listen; we know we are facing the risk that the administration will accept our resignations."
In statements to night talk shows on Wednesday, aviation minister Hossam Kamal said the demand for raises is not feasible when the country is struggling to overcome four years of economic and political turbulence.
Kamal said he will meet with all the pilots on Saturday to discuss the company's problems and put them in perspective.
"We wish them [the pilots] good luck somewhere else," Kamal said, referring to the possibility that the compamny might accept the resignations.
About 850 pilots work at the national carrier.
In December 2014, EgyptAir announced that it had accumulated LE10.11 billion in losses over the past three years.
EgyptAir profits reached a peak of LE 695 million in the 2007/2008 fiscal year, but began suffering losses following the uprising in January 2011, data on its website reveals.
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