A pilot with the Turkish Airlines (THY), has been relieved of his duty for opposing the Airline’s new regulation of praying in the cockpit.
The chairman of the board of Directors of Turkish Airlines, Ahmet Bolat, while responding to a question on LinkedIn, in July, had announced that the company was to introduce a new regulation that will be binding the pilots.
He wrote, “First, there will be a regulation regarding those who wish to perform prayers in the cockpit and cabin. Thank you for reminding me.”
The dismissed pilot in a new interview with Gazete Duvar, Saturday, narrated how he came to be dismissed and Bolat’s response to his question on why he was dismissed.
According to him, when he approached Gazete concerning his dismissal, Bolat replied, “I don’t have to give reasons, I dismiss whoever I want.”
The dismissed pilot however said his response to his co-pilot was made during Ramadan when said co-pilot had told him he /she was fasting during that flight to which he responded “fasting during a 12-hour flight is risky.”
“The first officer on the flight had 3-4 years of experience. They stated that they had high religious sensitivities. But in my opinion, they are not that sensitive about religion.
“They is someone who tries to gain a position by using religion. This person’s father is a professor of philosophy at a school in London, but I think he raised his child to be a snitch,” the dismissed pilot said.
The pilot further said that, “I am a Muslim too. But what we do (being a pilot) is risky. The co-pilot said to me, ‘I can pray as you go to the toilet’. The toilet is a necessity, but you can pray after the flight.”
