Pilot in Mexico City refuses to take off over unpaid wages: Reports
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The pilot told dozens of passengers onboard the commercial flight that he was owed five months’ salary and travel expenses by his employer.
PHOTO: ST FILE
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MEXICO CITY – A pilot refused to take off and barricaded himself in the cockpit of a plane in Mexico City on Dec 19, staging what he said was a protest over unpaid wages, local media reported.
“This plane isn’t leaving until they pay us what they owe us,” the pilot told dozens of passengers onboard the commercial flight, according to a video cited by local media, including Reforma newspaper.
AFP was not able to independently verify the video, which spread on social media.
The pilot said he was owed five months’ salary and travel expenses by his employer.
“I feel bad for you because you don’t deserve this. I’ve been with the airline for almost three years and I’ve never failed to complete a flight,” he told passengers in the video, adding that he was the father of three children.
Officials at Mexico City’s Benito Juarez International Airport posted on social media platform X that civil aviation authorities were investigating an “incident” that took place at around 3pm on a scheduled flight to the Caribbean resort city of Cancun in south-eastern Mexico.
According to Mexican media reports, the captain was detained, while the passengers were evacuated. AFP
