Today (February 12) marks the second anniversary of Bahrain Air going into liquidation, leaving hundreds of employees without a job and thousands of customers out of pocket.

Millions of dinars are still owed by the former airline, which went into voluntary liquidation in 2013 after mounting fuel and airport bills became impossible to pay, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

Numerous lawsuits have been filed against the carrier, which had earlier agreed to provide former employees with severance pay equal to 24 days salary for each year worked, in addition to compensation for unused leave, notice periods and an indemnity for expatriates.

"It has been exactly two years since Bahrain Air closed its offices and left staff and passengers at the mercy of a liquidator," an ex-crew member told the GDN.

"On behalf of all the Indian crew of Bahrain Air we want to know why the authorities are still not taking any legal steps against the owners of the company regarding our remaining settlement, which they still owe us?

"Also, why has the liquidator not sold off the assets of Bahrain Air and paid the staff their remaining balance as promised?"

The former employee, who did not want to be named for legal reasons, said that the airline's staff had been "thrown under the bus" with the carrier's unexpected closure.

Most ex-employees have only received 40 per cent of the total amount they were promised, while 33 rejected the severance packages outright and decided to try and get more compensation through the courts.

A lawyer close to the case revealed that their claim was still progressing through the courts system, having been referred first to the Labour Court, then the Cassation Court before appearing back before judges in the Labour Court again.

"We wanted it to be in the Labour Court so that is progress," he said, under condition of anonymity.

"There is still hope as Bahrain Air hasn't officially announced bankruptcy because it has not received the final ruling on that since it was applied for in 2013.

Frozen

"But even if they don't have the money there are other ways for the former employees to get what they are owed."

A trial date has still not been set in the case, the lawyer added.

Former Bahrain Air staff had their bank accounts and credit cards frozen after the airline announced it was going into liquidation, based on fears that they might leave the country with unpaid debts.

At least 22,000 tickets bought by passengers were also rendered worthless when the airline was dissolved.

The GDN earlier reported that unpaid bills had spurred the then Transportation Ministry to impose route restrictions on Bahrain Air, taking away its most profitable destinations and making it "impossible" to pay mounting debts, according to the company's former chief executive.

No one from the Bahrain Air Trade Union could be reached for comment when contacted by the GDN yesterday. - TradeArabia News Service