BEIRUT: Most Middle East Airlines flights have been cancelled as pilots kicked off a 48-hour strike late Monday amid a mounting conflict with management over the sacking of a sick pilot. However, some flights would still take off after a number of pilots refused to abide by the strike which was called by the Lebanese Pilots Association, according to MEA management.

A statement issued by MEA said flights to Paris, Brussels, London, Frankfurt, Baghdad and Istanbul will still take off Tuesday.

The statement added that MEA was working toward ensuring additional flights soon. It said MEA was looking into coordinating with other carriers for the same purpose.

Head of Lebanese Pilot Association Fadi Khalil told The Daily Star earlier the strike was announced in a reaction to MEA’s management irresponsiveness to the association’s demand.

He insisted the national carrier should reverse its last week decision to layoff pilot Joseph Ayat, who is undergoing cancer treatment.

Khalil revealed the association was not in direct negotiations with MEA until 9 p.m. Monday.

“No one from MEA’s top management is in direct contact with us, even after our three-day go-slow protest which saw the delay of most flights. This prompted us to announce the TURN TO PAGE 10FROM PAGE 148-hour strike affecting all outbound MEA flights,” Khalil said. Khalil added that there were no legal grounds for the layoff as the Lebanese labor law entitles employees up to 75 days of fully-paid sick leave in addition to a further 75 days at a half-pay level.

“Captain Ayat, who served the company for 38 years, was fired just after he informed the company of his sickness and definitely before his legal sick leave was over. The company had thus risked the situation of all Lebanese pilots,” he added.

But MEA chairman Mohammad Hout dismissed the strike as “illegal and arbitrary,” and said an emergency meeting Tuesday would take measures against the protesting pilots.

“You cannot announce a strike at 5 p.m. for the same evening,” he said, adding “the company in the past had given similar compensation [to Ayat’s] to other sick pilots,” Hout told AFP.

Khalil also disputed the very validity of the evaluation by MEA’s medical committee, which had earlier declared Ayat incapable of flying, prompting the layoff.

He said such an assessment should have been made after the treatment was completed. MEA issued a statement Monday reiterating its position that Ayat had permanently lost the ability to fly aircraft.

“However, the company kept paying renumerations and continued to bear the full cost of the treatment,” the statement added.

Khalil told The Daily Star the strike would be followed by other escalatory steps if MEA does not reverse the decision.

The pilots initiated last Friday two-hour delays on MEA flights between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. The delays lasted until last Sunday.