On February 17th, the deadline given by Itapemirim Transportes Aérios to fly again expired. Soon after the company’s operations were interrupted on December 17, 2021, Procon-SP was notified of the deadline, and terminated when it was not completed.
In these two months, the company faced numerous labor lawsuits, non-fulfillment of reimbursement requests, banning the flight and sale of tickets through ANAC (National Civil Aviation Agency), among other problems.
back and forth
The company sent most of its fleet of seven aircraft out of Brazil, leaving only two in the country. One of them, the Airbus A319, did not even fly for the company.
The company claims that these aircraft were sent to the United States for maintenance because TAP M&E and Digex, which provided this type of service to Itapemirim, no longer function. At the same time, the company says that the leasing contract (which is a type of leasing) for the aircraft is maintained without any problem.
At the same time, UMB Bank, the owner of four aircraft operated by Itapemirim, requested the cancellation of the Brazilian registration of its three returned aircraft in the United States. The request was made to ANAC (National Civil Aviation Agency) this week.
When questioned, Itapemirim states that “it mobilizes administratively, the National Civil Aviation Agency – makes the necessary adjustments to strictly comply with the regulations of ANAC – Air Operator Certificate – to the decision suspending the COA”. to be cancelled”.
Missing refunds and enhanced procedures
In the So Paulo Court of Justice alone, more than 600 lawsuits have been filed against the air arm of the Itapemirim Group. Most are related to flight cancellations, moral damages and reimbursement of tickets that were not awarded.
In social networks, complaints grow on many pages and profiles. Before the interruption of the company’s operations, the group “Itapemirim Passage Cancelladas” is one of them, with dozens of complaints.
It was created by entrepreneur Laís Fortunato Martins in November last year. According to Lais, the idea arose after she ran into problems for a flight from Fortaleza to Guarulhos, where she says an unfair charge was placed on her card after she tried to reschedule a flight, but the rescheduling was confirmed. Would not have happened.
His flight to So Paulo was changed from 1 December to the early hours of 2 December, when he traveled with his two daughters. The withdrawal was set for December 15, but the company rescheduled for the 20th.
The company ceased operations on 17 December, and he chose to pay R$2,000 to fly his family back to Ceara on another airline. “If I knew I was going to go through all this trouble because I was R$200 less [no valor da passagem]I would fly with another company”, says Lais.
In early February, the entrepreneur was supposed to have a meeting with the company at Procon-CE, but he says none of the company attended and opted to go to court to get the amount spent.
On this issue, the company said in a note:
“With respect to reimbursement, the Company maintains understanding with its customers, always preferring amicable settlement. For lawsuits filed, the Company respects the right of citizens to appeal to justice, but not to extra-judicial agreements. has stopped. Justice always demands compromise, fulfill its commitments”.
Soft, Procon-SP did not respond until the conclusion of this report if it is complying with the agreement it signed with the company in December.
labor litigation
Several unions across the country have filed class-action lawsuits in court to guarantee the payment of wages to the company’s employees. Almost all of them deal with delay in payment and non-compliance of labor laws.
In one of them, was moved by the National Aeronauts Union (which represents pilots and flight attendants) to block R$1 million from Itapemirim’s accounts of guarantee dues, for repeated delays in payments. Fine and FGTS was given for collection.
The airline workers union in So Paulo state, which covers airline workers working on the ground, filed a lawsuit in early February, which also sought to block company assets to pay for wages.
At the same time, the Association of Labor Creditors and former employees of the Itapemirim Group also criticized the expenses with the airline. According to the association, these amounts can be spent on paying off the company’s debts with the group’s creditors.
As of November 2021, about $32.3 million of the company’s money was spent on its Hawaii branch, according to a report by an administrator involved in the group’s judicial recovery.
The company did not provide information about the report uol Your position on labor issues.
