Pilots union warned management of risks at Spanair

In the months leading up to this past week’s fatal crash of a Spanair MD-82 at the Madrid International Airport, airline workers had repeated warned management that passengers were being put at risk by the “chaotic” manner in which the airline was being operated.

In numerous emails to the management of Spanair, Sepla, the union representing the Spanish pilots, stated that the day-to-day operations of the airline were “a disaster.” The union also informed the airline that the older MD80-series planes were not being updated rapidly enough. It was an MD-82 that crashed this week, killing 153.

In an email sent in April 2007 to Lars Nygaard, who was the Spanair chief executive at that time, a representative of the union issued a warning: “The lack of resources and their quality on the ground, the repeated AOGs [grounded planes] in the fleet, the scarcity of crews and the system of movement of crew members mean that the general feeling is one of operational chaos that places the passengers at risk.”

During the following month, the union sent another email to the airline’s management, stating: “The operation continues to be a disaster and is getting worse by the day.”

The Spanish newspaper El Mundo published the emails two days after the accident occurred. There was no indication how management responded to the union’s warnings.

www.spanair.com