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The Government warns about buying tickets at Interjet after five consecutive days of cancellations

2020-12-03T13:52:10.732Z


The company appoints Alejandro del Valle president in the midst of the crisis while the Consumer Prosecutor's Office warns that the company cannot maintain "a minimum operational capacity"


An Interjet plane, on November 19 at the international airport of Mexico City.EDGARD GARRIDO / Reuters

Interjet's cancellation crisis worsens again.

The airline has not operated since Saturday because it has not paid for fuel for its planes, according to the Ministry of Communications and Transportation.

It is the second time in a month that the company has canceled its flights for not paying the jet fuel tax.

The Federal Consumer Prosecutor's Office (Profeco) launched an alert on Tuesday night, a harsh alert in which it warns that the airline cannot maintain "a minimum operating capacity" due to lack of liquidity to pay for fuel.

In the midst of the crisis, the company reported on Wednesday that the Alemán family ceded control of the airline to Alejandro del Valle, who has been appointed as president of its Board of Directors.

As happened in early November, Interjet has had to cancel all its flights burdened by debt.

The airline owes 1,200 million pesos (almost 60 million dollars) only in fuel to Airports and Auxiliary Services (ASA), as reported yesterday by the Undersecretary of Transportation, Carlos Morán Moguel.

Until it meets this debt, the company works with a prepaid model, that is, it must pay the money 24 hours before to have fuel the next day.

The company's lack of liquidity has resulted in five days in a row without being able to operate.

The airline had canceled 62 flights as of Monday, affecting more than 3,700 passengers, according to Profeco.

Some of the destinations were Cancun, Mérida, Guadalajara, Monterrey or Los Cabos.

As a result of these suspensions, the attorney general's office has warned of the risk of buying a ticket at Interjet.

In addition, he has reported that the airline has closed its offices, that it grants thousands of

vouchers

that consumers cannot make effective due to “recurring cancellations” and that it is not facing compensation.

The institution already issued a similar alert on November 3 for the same situation that affected 3,000 travelers.

So, Profeco reported receiving more than 1,500 complaints throughout the year for cancellations, more than half of which were already in process.

The problems surround Interjet on several fronts: in addition to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on operations, the

low-cost

airline

owes fuel, payroll and compensation to its workers and more than 20 million dollars in back taxes between 2013 and 2017 The head of the Tax Administration Service (SAT), Raquel Buenrostro, assured a couple of weeks ago that the company, whose accounts are being audited, "has no liquidity" and "needs a capital increase."

“They have always told us that they are going to pay us.

The how is the one that is missing ”, he pointed out.

"The assets you have are not enough to cover your debts."

In April, the SAT already seized a property of the Alemán family, the company's founder in 2015.

In the midst of the storm, the airline has reported that it changes hands.

By appointing Alejandro del Valle as president of its Board of Directors, the businessmen Miguel Alemán Velasco and his son, Miguel Alemán Magnani, will now have only one honorary position as founders of the company.

Alemán Velasco, the son of a former Mexican president, served as Interjet's president from its creation in 2005 until he handed it over to Alemán Magnani five months ago.

Magnani is part of the advisory council of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

In July, Alejandro del Valle and Carlos Cabal Peniche announced an investment of 150 million dollars in the company.

A couple of weeks ago, Cabal Peniche decided to withdraw from the operation.

The airline reported in its statement today that the capital contributed by Del Valle "will allow it to meet the company's labor, tax and supplier commitments, as well as generate working capital to boost the airline's growth."


Source: elparis

All news articles on 2020-12-03

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