Tunisair Flight Chaos Leads to Management Shakeup and Government Intervention

Tunisia’s national airline, Tunisair, is embroiled in operational disruptions. Following severe flight delays and cancellations earlier this month, the government is now taking decisive measures to address the crisis.
 

While technical issues with aircraft are a common challenge, Tunisair’s recent troubles have gone beyond the usual. On November 6, 2024, the Ministry of Transport announced a significant management overhaul, citing “serious violations” that have plagued the airline. These issues left hundreds of French and Italian travelers stranded at Tunis Airport or unable to reach their destinations.

The management shakeup comes on the heels of major disruptions from November 1 to November 4, 2024. Several aircraft faced technical issues that led to operational paralysis, which prompted Transport Minister Rashid Amari to visit Tunis-Carthage Airport. His visit identified serious operational shortcomings, leading to the dismissal of multiple officials.

Halima Khawaja has been appointed as the new General Director of Tunisair, accompanied by a revamped leadership team. Key new appointments include Ryadh Souheil at Tunisair Technics, Mohamed Ben Rajeb heading the catering division, Hamza Louati in charge of finance, and Amel Bourguiba overseeing communications and external relations. This reorganization is intended to pave the way for an urgent recovery plan addressing Tunisair’s financial and operational challenges, ensuring long-term sustainability.

The airline’s General Director was also replaced, and legal and disciplinary measures have been initiated against those deemed responsible for the failures. Tunisair publicly apologized for the disruptions, acknowledging the inconvenience to passengers. To ease the operational strain, Tunisair announced it is leasing three additional aircraft, with a fourth expected soon. However, the airline has noted challenges in sourcing leased aircraft, citing limited availability in the market. This move aims to stabilize and expand service capacity amidst pressing logistical hurdles.

It is worth noting that, in July 2024, Khaled Chelly, Tunisair’s then-CEO, was arrested as part of an investigation involving several senior executives. Detained on July 30, he appeared before the Public Prosecutor’s Office on July 31. His arrest came just days after the detention of the Tunisair union’s secretary general, Najmeddine Mzoughi, on July 27. Mzoughi, accused of falsifying documents, engaging in corruption, and attempting to flee to Libya, is reportedly under investigation for diploma falsification, corruption, and related charges.

Since November 4, 2024, Tunisair has deployed a Boeing 777-200 for select European routes to alleviate capacity issues. The 23-year-old aircraft, leased on a short-term ACMI contract from the Madrid-based charter airline Privilege Style, has 312 seats. This addition allows Tunisair to maintain essential services to destinations like Madrid and Paris, compensating for grounded aircraft.

Currently, nearly six Tunisair aircraft are out of service due to maintenance needs, including two A319s, three A320ceos, and one A320neo. The airline’s long-haul fleet includes two A330-200s, with a third planned for acquisition.

In response to the crisis, the Ministry of Transport has laid out a comprehensive plan to stabilize Tunisair, which includes; an urgent rescue strategy, a medium-term restructuring plan with actionable steps, a tailored governance model, Legislative updates to bolster competitiveness, Optimizing human resources for better efficiency, and Initiatives to ensure consistent flight schedules and enhance service quality.

Additionally, the Ministry is revising its crisis management protocols to improve passenger communication, focusing on transparency, proactive updates, and timeliness. These steps reflect the government’s commitment to preserving Tunisair’s role as the national carrier and restoring its standing. Ongoing developments will be closely monitored as the airline works through its current challenges.

Tunisair aims to serve 2.8 million passengers by the end of 2024, up from 2.4 million in 2023 but still below its pre-COVID record of 3.4 million passengers in 2019. In Africa, Tunisair operates flights to several cities, including Oran, Algiers, Cairo, Casablanca, Nouakchott, Dakar, Conakry, Bamako, Ouagadougou, Niamey, and Abidjan. As part of his restructuring efforts, former CEO Khaled Chelly implemented a plan to cut unprofitable routes and retire aging aircraft.

In May 2024, the airline resumed flights to Lisbon Portugal, after suspending the route in 2019 due to restructuring. With the resumption of Lisbon flights which was halted in 2019, Tunisair now flies to 10 European countries, including Spain, France, Italy, the UK, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Turkey, Switzerland, and Portugal. For the summer 2024 season, the airline scheduled nearly 17,068 flights, offering 2.7 million seats a 19% increase over the previous year.