A group of ex-Estonian Air (Tallinn Lennart Meri) employees have filed a class-action lawsuit against Estonia's new carrier Nordica (ND, Tallinn Lennart Meri) citing delays in receiving their full severance as well as outstanding benefits packages.
According to the Postimees newspaper, the fifty-nine employees are claiming over EUR1.7 million (USD1.9 million) in outstanding severance and vacation pay as well as redundancy benefits.
The suit claims to have adequate legal proof that Nordica is the successor carrier to Estonian Air and is therefore liable for its debts. Nordica CEO Jaan Tamm has, however, dismissed those allegations stating that Nordica is a separate company with no ties whatsoever to the defunct Estonian Air.
It is recalled that Estonian Air ceased all operations in November 2015 after the European Commission ruled Estonian government funding to the carrier had violated bloc rules governing state aid. As such, burdened with repayments of EUR85 million, the carrier suspended all operations before being liquidated.
To avoid a repetition of the saga, the Estonian government established the Nordic Aviation Group with Nordica, a virtual carrier, chartering in capacity from Regional Jet (Tallinn Lennart Meri), a certificated ACMI/charter operator.
