THE HAGUE - Turkish private airline Onur Air, suspended from flying in the Netherlands for a month, demanded on Tuesday that Dutch aviation authorities revoke the ban or otherwise the company would launch legal action, an Onur Air spokesman said.
"The lawyer for Onur Air has summoned the civil aviation inspection to reveal the fact that lead to the suspension and to revoke the ban before 12 o`clock local time (1000 GMT on Tuesday) under pain of a legal action," said Onur Air spokesman Kees Postema.
He said that the situation after the ultimatum had passed was unclear because Onur Air had not heard from its lawyer.
Postema said that Dutch aviation inspectors had not given any precise details about the incidents that led to the suspension of Onur Air during talks in the Netherlands with Turkish aviation inspection officials.
After the talks, which lasted late into Sunday night, Onur Air president Cankut Bagana reportedly told Turkish journalists that the company would take the issue to the Dutch courts.
Turkish media in Ankara quoted him as saying: "The Netherlands is a state based on the rule of law and there are judges in this country.
"We will look for justice as of tomorrow (Tuesday)," .
A spokesman for the Dutch aviation authorities could not be reached for comment on Tuesday afternoon.
The Netherlands suspended Onur Air flights last Thursday, and France, Germany, and Switzerland followed suit.
Turkish and Dutch officials are set to hold another round of talks on Wednesday in Ankara, Turkish Transport Minister Binali Yildirim said, quoted by the Turkish news agecy Anatolia.
"The (Dutch) decision is very harsh," Yildirm said. Onur Air "has no deficiency that would require a decision as harsh as suspending its whole fleet."
Dutch authorities grounded Onur Air for a month owing to "serious safety deficiencies observed with respect to aircraft, operational procedures and aircraft handling", according to a copy of the Dutch decision obtained by AFP.
The company condemned the Dutch decision as a move aimed at snatching up Onur Air`s share in the market.
The ban hit the company just at the beginning of the summer season in Turkey, a favorite holiday destinations for millions of tourists from European countries
The Netherlands, Germany and France are also home to sizeable communities of Turkish immigrant workers.
05/17/2005 11:46 GMT