Saudia crew penalized for flight delay

JEDDAH, 14 January 2003 — Saudi Arabian Airlines has decided to punish the crew of flight 701 bound for Karachi for causing a five-hour delay in the flight’s departure, Al-Jazirah newspaper reported yesterday. Their salaries will be cut for an unspecified period as a penalty. The board viewed the incident as potentially damaging to Saudia’s reputation and imposed the exemplary punishment to prevent a similar lapse in the future. Director General of SAA Dr. Khaled Bin Bakr publicly apologized for the incident, the paper said. He said that incidents like this are very rare and that severe punishment will be imposed on any member of staff neglecting his duties.