Without notice, Interjet canceled all 17 of its outgoing flights from Mexico City today, including one that was headed to Merida.
Some news reports connected the cancelations to a dispute with crew.
The company did not answer reporters’ questions about the unexpected cancelations.
Employees did not report to work after a dispute over flight hours and break time.
Stranded passengers who complained to the Federal Consumer Agency have only been offered food vouchers with no promise of a refund, according to media reports.
Earlier, FlightGlobal reported that Interjet grounded more than two-thirds of its Sukhoi Superjet 100 fleet as the airline remains deadlocked in talks with their Russian manufacturer.
Fifteen of Interjet’s 22 SSJ100s are in storage while seven aircraft remain in service, Cirium’s Fleets Analyzer shows.
The stored aircraft were parked as early as April 2018, although about half of the 15 aircraft went into storage in the second half of 2018. Since the year began, Interjet has parked two more SSJ100s, the database shows.
Sources familiar with the situation say Interjet wants to sell its SSJ100 fleet back to Sukhoi, which is not accepting returns, reports FlightGlobal.
A string of mechanical issues over the years had forced the airline to take SSJ100s out of service. The airline, Mexico’s third largest, received almost US$40 million in compensation for maintenance costs in the second quarter of 2018.
