The airline company Syphax Airlines has temporarily suspended its flights to and from Tunisia starting from 30 July 2015. A decision taken after the announcement the day before by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to stop all operations linked to the private Tunisian transporter.

Syphax Airlines apparently did not honour its financial commitments to the international institution and the latter invited other carriers worldwide (about 400 airline companies) to stop dealing with the Tunisian carrier. Syphax called this decision from IATA “abrupt, surprising and an obstacle”, which led it to temporarily cancel its flights to and from Tunisia.

Syphax declares that it will do the necessary in order to reduce the inconvenience posed by this situation to its clients, particularly during this summer. The current situation is the ultimate stage in a difficult path for the carrier.

The company is facing substantial operational problems, having lost by end September up to 42% of volume of passengers, which translated into a drop in revenue, while at the same time seeing its indebtedness soar. For the shareholders of the company, particularly small shareholders, this outcome is prejudicial.

Syphax’s stock has been suspended from trading by the Tunis Stock Exchange for about 8 months now, without any explanation from the management of the financial market. Stuck with non-negotiable shares, the shareholders, who at the time of the suspension experienced losses of 60% on the value of the IPO, could see their concerns grow even more.