Fiji Airways boss says staff that allegedly disregard self-quarantine directives, have no place in National Airline

The Managing Director and CEO of Fiji Airways, Andre Viljoen says if found guilty after due process, the Fiji Airways staff that allegedly disregarded the self-quarantine directives of the Fijian Government, will have no place in the National Airline and this includes any breaches in the past two weeks and any in the future.

In an internal email to all staff last night, Viljoen says he is disappointed beyond measure and Police will continue with their investigations and they will give them every assistance required.

The 36 flight attendants who are on self-quarantine at a Nadi hotel were allegedly having grog sessions with people from outside almost every night and other people were also bringing over food, clothes and snacks to them.

Viljoen says Fiji Airways will return to the skies once this crisis is over but if some of its staff flaunt Government directives or internal Fiji Airways Safety rules, they will not return.

The CEO says that he shares the disappointment and embarrassment that most members of the Fiji Airways family are feeling today.

He says when the Lautoka Containment Zone was implemented, they accommodated staff who could not reach their homes in Lautoka at a hotel in Nadi.

Viljoen says he finds it hard to understand why anyone would behave so recklessly as everyone arriving from a layover was told by Health Officials on the need to self-quarantine either at their own homes or at the hotel.

He says these are not normal times and for a week, everyone has been made aware of the rules surrounding self-quarantine.

Viljoen says they have colleagues in Lautoka right now in the confinement zone and are unable to get to work.

He says that his focus in the past few weeks as this crisis grew, has been to ensure that Fiji Airways survives in a world where many other airlines will not, to save jobs when many are already letting people go.

Viljoen says they have selfless pilots and cabin crew who continue to operate recovery flights to return stranded citizens to their homes and bring Fijians back and airport personnel, and Fiji Link who continue to operate and serve customers.

He says all this good work, all these responsible actions by almost 1,500 members of the Fiji Airways family, are tarnished by the actions of just a handful.