Here are some quotes from flydubai Operations Management:
- "The safety and security of our Employees is and will always be upmost in our mind, if we believe the situation to be unsafe we would cease all operations."
- "We deeply care about your safety and welfare and will apply the upmost diligence and attention to that end. Be assured we will constantly monitor the dynamic environment and do what is needed to protect YOU—the most valuable asset of flydubai."
- "We deeply care about your safety and welfare."
But what follows is the reality of what those statements really mean...
Date: 08/Nov/2011. Flydubai flight number: FDB304. Aircraft: A6-FDM.
Aircraft went tech due to problem with anti-ice, and with no engineering support available in Kabul.
Due to lack of trust in the procedures put in place for such events, the crew was not comfortable about leaving either the aircraft or the airport.
The company used by flydubai to provide security & assistance to its Kabul flights had left the aircraft.
Whilst they waited onboard, an armed Afghan military squad (
Afghans Assume Control of Kabul Airport) boarded the aircraft and then escorted the crew ‘under protest’, at gunpoint, off the aircraft and out of the airport.
This resulted in the crew, which consisted of one Captain (
male), 1 F/O (
female), 4 cabin Crew (
females) being abandoned, in the middle of a war zone. Then having to find their own unsecured transport, to an unsecured hotel, in the middle of the night, in Kabul.... WTF ?!!!
The fact that there was no kidnap, or injuries, or loss of life, sustained by this crew, was purely a matter of shear luck!
Flydubai management has consistently told its crews that a foolproof security plan was in place for such events.
But, the one time that it was needed, it completely fell apart. So which fool put that plan in place and why are we not surprised at the outcome?!
The concerns of all flydubai’s aircrew have now been proved 100% right regarding the legitimacy of such plans put in place by the Manager Safety & Security. The competence of the Manager Safety & Security was always in doubt, but now his incompetence has been proven beyond all doubt!
To reestablish confidence in Safety & Security department, and for having put its aircrew in a life threatening situation, flydubai's Manager Safety & Security should be fired on the spot !