Volotea company in Nantes. Pilots, hostesses and stewards occupy the airport roundabout – Ouest-France

By dint of investigating the twelve consecutive hours of work and getting up at 3 a.m., the air hostesses, stewards, pilots, co-pilots and captains of the low cost company Volotea are over, they say , by losing sleep. And perhaps also the notion of day and night? It is in any case from 4:30 am that they settled at the entrance to Nantes-Atlantique airport, this Saturday April 16, Easter weekend and departures during school holidays. They plan to stay there for a good part of the day. A first Clearly visible under the full moon, with placards and braziers. “We had never occupied this roundabout”, explain a group of young air hostesses, who however wish to remain anonymous. Besides, we won’t see a face in the photos. All fear reprisals from management. In particular on their work schedules, which are already difficult to bear, they explain. Note: Volotea appeared on Tuesday, April 5, before the Nantes police court for 76 flight time violations and 89 rest time violations. A procedure at the initiative of the labor inspectorate. Tears On the roundabout, the air hostesses tell of their permanent exhaustion. Their crying spells, often. Their anxieties of not being up to their security mission with travelers, because of a vigilance blunted by fatigue. The pilots, too, confide their stress generated by the infernal schedules, “eleven hours of service in a row, five days in a row. Followed by only two days of break. And then we do it again, another five days. Such a rhythm repeating itself for weeks. At the end of April This Easter weekend, part of the low-cost airline’s flight personnel went on strike, at the call of the national union of airline pilots (SNPL) and the flight personnel union. They are already warning that they will do it again on Saturday April 23 and Sunday April 24. One of Volotea’s planes, which took off despite everything this Saturday, April 16, around 6:30 a.m. | WEST-FRANCE The straw that broke the camel’s back is Volotea’s desire to further reduce the salaries of its staff: “We are already the least well paid in the air industry, protests a pilot from Nantes . The beginner co-pilot, here, he starts at minimum wage! We are 30% below market prices. “On the roundabout, a large white banner warns:” Your security at the price of the Smic. » Inspection Several planes took off with delay, this Saturday, April 16th. Because of the strike? Not necessarily, because according to the staff present on site, there were mainly technical breakdowns. Around 6 a.m., the labor inspectorate came to carry out checks to verify that the service personnel on board had been hired in the rules. And that the company was not hijacking the strike. Investigations are ongoing. Volotea company in Nantes. Pilots, hostesses and stewards occupy the airport roundaboutEXPAND