NICOSIA - Cyprus Airways vice chairman Achilleas Kyprianou tendered his resignation Thursday, the second board member to do so in days, after illegal redundancy notices sparked a two-day strike by staff in a new humiliation for the ailing carrier's embattled management.
Kyprianou pulled no punches in his criticism of airline executives, accusing them of failing to make the necessary preparations for the redundancies, which are a key part of a last-ditch survival plan for the loss-making carrier.
"Unfortunately, events have shown that once again the Cyprus Airways board were not properly informed," he said in his resignation letter.
Government spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides conceded the airline's woes were intensifying.
"Do you want me to say there is a problem? Yes, there is a problem," he told reporters.
Both pro-government parties and the opposition have demanded the resignation of the entire board after management were forced to withdraw the 22 redundancy notices issued to flight attendants in the face of the two-day shutdown by trade unions protesting a clear breach of labour law.
Cyprus Airways management and staff have been squaring off ever since the first unveiling of the survival plan which targets savings of between 20 million and 23 million Cyprus pounds (34.3 million to 39.4 million euros) this year.
Under the plan, a minimum of 250 jobs are to disappear through early retirement, redundancies and non-renewal of seasonal contracts.
The airline also plans to sell off one of two Airbus A320 aircraft it will no longer need as it cuts back its route map.
Even if Cyprus Airways manages to push through the plan, it will still need EU approval for 60 million pounds in loans from the government to bail it out.
Ther carrier posted net losses of more than 31 million pounds in 2004, up from 20.9 million a year earlier, according to results announced to the Cyprus Stock Exchange on Monday.
03/03/2005 19:57 GMT