Croatia Airlines has cancelled 40 flights in the last few days due to a lack in passengers, the HSSP pilot’s union head Andre Sarinic claims.

The cheapest tickets for one of the cancelled flights on the route Zagreb-Sarajevo, cost 2,380 kunas or 316 Euros. The pilots complain that the incompetent management is costing Croatia Airlines profits.

"Someone is deliberately trying to destroy Croatia Airlines" says Sarinic.

The pilots are currently tied up in legal action against Croatian Civil Aviation Agency's new operations manual for Croatia Airlines that cuts their rest time between flights to three hours. Pilots say the new regulations are putting passengers' safety at risk.

Sarinic says pilots are not lazy, but need adequate time to rest.

"Pilots want to work a lot more, even 900 hours per year if need be, as long as time to rest is ensured," Sarinic said. According to Sarinic, pilots that work for Croatia Airlines are accused of working only 70 hours a month, although their real work time – which includes non-flight activities – is much longer.

The Croatia Airlines management says that in wintertime, the pilots work on average 45 per cent of the allowed monthly flight time. In summer - when CA activities are at their peak - they work about 60 per cent of the allowed hours.

The management says HSPP media outreach is a form of pressure on the administration as the two sides negotiate a new collective agreement, daily Vjesnik writes.