Turkish Airlines 'fires 211 employees over links to Fethullah Gulen' after attempted coup
Authorities have already sacked, suspended or detained 60,000 people
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Turkish Airlines says it has fired 211 employees over their links to the Islamic transnational Gülen movement after the recent failed coup.
The state-run company sacked the workers, including management and cabin crew, as part of a purge of state institutions.
Dismissals occurred late on Sunday after it was decided the employees were linked to a religious movement President Tayyip Erdogan has said attempted to overthrow the government.
An official at Turkish Airlines, Europe's fourth-biggest carrier, declined to comment.
Other reports said the dismissals were due to "inefficiency."
Thelira.com, a financial-news website, said about 250 cabin crew were dismissed, along with 100 management and administrative staff.
Aviation news site Airporthaber.com said among those let go was a deputy chief executive responsible for the airline's financial affairs.
Authorities have sacked, suspended or detained some 60,000 people, mainly public-sector employees, after a failed coup by a small faction in the military. They are accused of sympathizing or belonging to a religious group led by Fethullah Gulen, an Islamic preacher in self-imposed exile in the United States.
Separately, landline operator Turk Telekom, which is 30 per cent state-owned, sacked 198 people on Friday in "cooperation with the security forces" and said some managers had been summoned by prosecutors for testimony in connection with the coup investigation, according to e-mailed statements.
More than 240 people were killed and 2,000 injured in violence surrounding the July 15 coup attempt.
Turkish Airlines shares were up 2.83 per cent at 5.08 lira on Monday, in line with the main index. Turk Telekom outpaced the index, rising 3.59 per cent to 6.06 lira.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments