Flying High with Air Tahiti Nui

[tgh]

More than 30 air hostesses and stewards from French Polynesia's international flag carrier, Air Tahiti Nui, are facing drug smuggling charges.

 

Police say the airlines' staff are scheduled to appear in court in Papette in September.

 

They say the crew were interviewed as part of an inquiry on a suspected drug trafficking ring which is believed to have been operating for the past three years, mainly between French Polynesia and the United States' city of Los Angeles.

 

Los Angeles is a major destination for the French Pacific company.

 

Police say an investigation carried out with the help of French customs in Tahiti found 33 staff are suspected of taking an active part in the importation of a variety of drugs such as ice, cocaine, marijuana and ecstasy.

 

They are accused of acquiring the substances while transiting in LA.

 

It is alleged some of the drugs were used for private consumption and some were smuggled into French Polynesia and re-sold to local dealers.

 

Air Tahiti Nui issued a weekend release saying the company has withdrawn the accused staff from service and initiated disciplinary measures.

[Degas]

I just checked the media new release section of Air Tahiti Nui's offical website and there is nothing mentioned about a news release.......

[Degas]

I just went to google.com and WOW there was quite a bit about the arrests.

Does Air Tahiti Nui have enough staff to cover all the flights with 30 cabin staff suspended??????

Lets keep our fingers Xed that there isn't a flight problem for people to and from FP in the next little while !!!!!

[Stranger1]

Oh great. This has been going on for 3 years and they decided to bust these guys a few days before we leave...nice.

[Degas]

I will keepmmy fingers XXXed for you that you won;t be impacted by this on your flight......have a great time !!!!!

[hillslife]

Some of us CC'ers on the Aug 12th TP just heard about this also... what a bummer - this has been a dream trip for years for most of us....we will be keeping our eyes open since there aren't many options of flights to Tahiti....even if you do have insurance

 

I will be keeping my fingers crossed for you July 19th people also....:confused:

 

I don't want to 'fly high' but I REALLLLLY want to go to Tahiti as scheduled......

[CruiseDuck]

I read that in 2005 one of the pilots was arrested for drug dealing and flying after taking ecstasy. Hopefully they drug tested all the pilots and are continuing to do so.

 

Hope this does not effect the flights out of LA. That would be a bummer!!

[hillslife]

I haven't seen anything new about this 'bust" - has anyone else??? I keep checking the boards and keeping my fingers crossed ATN will not strike before our Aug 12th TP cruise.....If they strike once we are on the islands - oh well....what can you do:p

[Rixnsd]

I have been planning our vacation for over a year to Tahiti and we are booked with ATN. Now I'm worried they will slip Ecstacy in my coctails on board and I will really have Jet lag with the Ambian to help me sleep on the way over.

[AZbeachboy]

Good Luck to all who travel to FP. When we went we traveled Hawaiian, had a great flight, quess we were lucky. But, we were comming back from Hawaii as well. Remember, they fly to other places and may restaff the LA leg with some of those people.

 

Blessings.

[CrazyCat=^..^=]

Great!!! We leave tomorrow on ATN out of LAX to Papette. I sure hope they have this under control. An 8 hour flight is not my favorite thought and now I am thinking about a high pilot and have a staff for emergencies.

[Oregonian]

I don't believe the crew flying while high is the concern. Rather, my concern is whether the suspensions or firing of 33 flight crew plus a threatened strike will impact ATN's operations.

 

Notwithstanding the case of the pilot who was fired and sentenced two years ago for flying under the influence of ecstacy, my understanding is that the flight crew were primarily reselling the drugs in Tahiti. I haven't seen anything saying they used the drugs while flying. Not to mention that since this has been so strongly reported, the crews will undoubtedly be under far tighter scrutiny.

 

The initial reports said 33 crew represents 20% of ATN's total crew staff. I have also seen discussion on a flight crew forum saying there are 400-450 total crew staff at ATN so that 33 is more like 7-8% (a lot better if you ask how they're going to keep flying their entire schedule!).

 

The other fly in the ointment is a threatened strike by ATN's crews. Their stated issue isn't firing of crew convicted of drug trafficking (which they support), rather it is firing of crew accused of trafficking before they are tried. Certainly if they do go on strike, all bets are off on ATN flying.

 

Ira

[tgh]

Murphy is at it again ... just when we thought it was safe to come out of the water.

We go final this morning on a code share qantas/atn flights to ppt on aug 30th.

Decided to give nice clean woolly Air New Zealand a miss because of a long layover an AKL.

 

Will dump this latest threat in the ta's lap .. thanks for the heads up

[tgh]

French Polynesian president backs Air Tahiti Nui bosses amid drugs controversy

 

Posted at 01:40 on 10 July, 2007 UTC

French Polynesia’s president, Gaston Tong Sang, has expressed confidence in the leadership of Air Tahiti Nui which has suspended about a fifth of its cabin crew over allegations of drugs offences.

More than 30 employees are to appear in a Papeete criminal court on charges of importing and using drugs, such as cocaine and ecstasy.

Mr Tong Sang also says he has confidence in the judiciary to deal with the case.

He says that customers of Air Tahiti Nui need to be reassured that steps have been taken to guarantee their safety

 

 

Air Tahiti Nui unions threaten strike over drugs probes

 

Posted at 04:06 on 09 July, 2007 UTC

The two unions representing Air Tahiti Nui staff have threatened to go on strike after about 20 percent of the airline employees were suspended amid a police probe over drug offences.

The unions say the airline management has used an abusive procedure against the more than 30 employees who are at the centre of a police investigation into the import and use of drugs, such as cocaine and ecstasy

The banned substances are believed to have been brought in from the United States.

About 100 employees had been questioned as part of the investigation and 33 of them are due to appear in the criminal court in Papeete in September.

The airline says it has put in place disciplinary measures which airline staff fear will result in sackings.

The unions say the airline has acted in haste and illegally as the suspects are to be presumed innocent.

They also say while they deplore the use of drugs on board the aircraft, young men and women are being thrown out as fodder for public opinion.

[tgh]

My ta has enquired this morning ..

 

Air Tahiti Nui are adamant that the media are just getting a bit excited and there will be no strike.