Two days after the crash of the aircraft which killed all 121 people on board, Helios Airways and the state are unable to answer to a plethora of questions raised in order to identify the causes of the disaster. Meanwhile, the grief of the victims’ relatives is gradually turning into anger.
The arrest of a “diseased” man accused of falsely claiming that he had received a text message by a passenger on board and the first post-mortem examinations which showed that passengers were alive when the plane crashed have complicated the effort to identify the causes.
The grief and anger of the relatives who flew to Athens on Monday in order to identify the bodies was clear. Of the 121 bodies, only 45 were identifiable. The list of victims was tragic, including complete families…
Helios Airways and the state tried to answer to a number of questions of the public opinion, but their explanations seem to have raised more questions.
According to a “Phileleftheros” report, British consultant of the Civil Aviation Department, Tim Taylor had warned that the Department’s inability did not allow flying controls for the period of eight months. Responding on the relevant question at a press conference held yesterday, Transport Minister, Haros Thrasou refused to “comment on a letter sent by a consultant”. Today, Mr. Thrasou was once again unclear, stressing that he had been assured by Mr. Taylor that these statements and allegations do not belong to him.
At the Company’s first press conference on Monday, Chairman, Andreas Drakos expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and promised that the Company will proceed to a financial aid. Mr. Drakos announced that Helios Airways will submit a compensation of €20 thousand for each passenger as part of the total compensation. (According to Helios website, even if the Company is not responsible for the crash, it will be called to pay a compensation of $150 thousand for each passenger).
Mr. Drakos avoided referring to the background of the aircraft, stressing that investigations are in progress. “Helios Airways will carry on as normal”, Mr. Drakos said.
Few hours later, the police raided the Company’s offices at the Mackenzie area in Larnaca to collect documents related to the doomed flight, useful for a possible criminal investigation. The search warrant was issued by the Attorney General.
Helios Airways was established in 1998 and operated in 2000. It was acquired by the CSE-listed company Libra Holidays Group in November 2004 against the sum of £1.9 million, after the latter sold Excel Airways in Britain. In 2004, Helios had a turnover of £25 million and losses of £1.1 million. It had short-term loans of £6.2 million.
The crash is expected to burden the financial condition of the holding company – which closed in 2004 recording losses before tax of £3 million – due to the loss of the aircraft and the compensations of at least $17 million that it will be forced to submit.
The arrest of a “diseased” man accused of falsely claiming that he had received a text message by a passenger on board and the first post-mortem examinations which showed that passengers were alive when the plane crashed have complicated the effort to identify the causes.
The grief and anger of the relatives who flew to Athens on Monday in order to identify the bodies was clear. Of the 121 bodies, only 45 were identifiable. The list of victims was tragic, including complete families…
Helios Airways and the state tried to answer to a number of questions of the public opinion, but their explanations seem to have raised more questions.
According to a “Phileleftheros” report, British consultant of the Civil Aviation Department, Tim Taylor had warned that the Department’s inability did not allow flying controls for the period of eight months. Responding on the relevant question at a press conference held yesterday, Transport Minister, Haros Thrasou refused to “comment on a letter sent by a consultant”. Today, Mr. Thrasou was once again unclear, stressing that he had been assured by Mr. Taylor that these statements and allegations do not belong to him.
At the Company’s first press conference on Monday, Chairman, Andreas Drakos expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and promised that the Company will proceed to a financial aid. Mr. Drakos announced that Helios Airways will submit a compensation of €20 thousand for each passenger as part of the total compensation. (According to Helios website, even if the Company is not responsible for the crash, it will be called to pay a compensation of $150 thousand for each passenger).
Mr. Drakos avoided referring to the background of the aircraft, stressing that investigations are in progress. “Helios Airways will carry on as normal”, Mr. Drakos said.
Few hours later, the police raided the Company’s offices at the Mackenzie area in Larnaca to collect documents related to the doomed flight, useful for a possible criminal investigation. The search warrant was issued by the Attorney General.
Helios Airways was established in 1998 and operated in 2000. It was acquired by the CSE-listed company Libra Holidays Group in November 2004 against the sum of £1.9 million, after the latter sold Excel Airways in Britain. In 2004, Helios had a turnover of £25 million and losses of £1.1 million. It had short-term loans of £6.2 million.
The crash is expected to burden the financial condition of the holding company – which closed in 2004 recording losses before tax of £3 million – due to the loss of the aircraft and the compensations of at least $17 million that it will be forced to submit.
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