Turkish Airlines executive sacked after coup attempt sues for unfair dismissal

The former Turkish Airlines chief financial officer Coskun Kilic said he is suing to be reinstated to the job following a “completely unfair” mass firing at the carrier last month that was part of a government purge against alleged coup plotters.

The lawsuit, which Mr Kilic said he filed in an Istanbul administrative court, demands that the state-controlled carrier either rehire him or pay compensation and clarify that the reason for the sacking was not related to the purge of employees allegedly tied to the US-based imam Fethullah Gulen. The court could not be reached for comment.

Authorities say Mr Gulen’s followers in the Turkish military plotted the bloody coup attempt against the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 15, and tens of thousands of people have been removed from jobs in government or state-regulated industries. While Turkish Airlines, also known as Turk Hava Yollari, did not explain Mr Kilic’s departure when it replaced him, it announced the move at the same time as the dismissal of 211 employees that it said have links to a movement Mr Gulen leads.

“Turkish Airlines’ decision to fire us without showing a real reason is damaging people’s reputation, because we were portrayed as if we are linked with that terror organisation,” Mr Kilic said.

Yahya Ustun, a spokesman at the carrier, declined to comment.

Turkish Airlines replaced Mr Kilic with Murat Seker, the head of investor relations and financial institutions at the state-owned TC Ziraat Bankasi, Turkey’s largest lender. Mr Kilic had been the CFO of the carrier since 2006 and helped to arrange financing of more than US$15 billion of aircraft purchases, including a $3bn facility this year and its debut enhanced equipment trust certificates, or EETCs, in 2015.

Mr Kilic said the company sent him a text on telling him of his dismissal and citing “operational necessities” on July 24.

“The decision was given although there had been no formal accusation, investigation, judicial decision or negative report about and against us by any authority previously,” he said.

More than 80,000 people have been suspended from office or sacked across Turkey since the coup plot, according to the Hurriyet newspaper. The purge has focused on institutions including the military and police, as well as state-owned businesses including Turk Telekomunikasyon, the national landline phone company. The government owns 49 per cent of Turkish Airlines, which employs more than 16,000 people, and it has a controlling vote on the board.

The airline ysterday reported January-July 2016 passenger carried increased by 4.4 per cent, reaching to 35.9 million passengers from 34.4 million passengers versus year ago, while load factor decreased by 4.3 points to 73.7 per cent

The increase in the number of passengers carried in domestic and international lines during the period was 5.9 per cent and 3.2 per cent, respectively

Cargo/mail carried during anuary-July rose by 9.2 per cent to 447,240 tonnes from 409,634 tonnes in 2015.

business@thenational.ae

Follow The National's Business section on Twitter

Key developments

Singapore summit: Trump and Kim launch charm offensive as meetings begin
Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un shake hands ahead of one-on-one discussion
US and North Korean teams sit down for bilateral summit
Kim: “I believe this is a good prelude for peace."
Trump: “We will solve it, we will be successful.”

All times UTC 4

Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.

8. Pillar 2 implementation

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer