Chaos at Sarajevo Airport: Unsuitable Workers Pay for Poor Business Operations

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - In addition to financial problems and losses due to the pandemic, the Sarajevo International Airport is increasingly shaken by internal turmoil resulting in both well-founded and unfounded accusations against the management. After a letter that arrived not so long ago at the airport union, which spoke of nepotism and crime and ended up on the notice board, a new one has arrived, but it is being kept away from the public. The letter states that illegalities and the concealment of crime have continued, and the finger is again pointed at Muhidin Podžić, who, as written in the first letter, "boasted that he would become the boss when his relative Sifet Podžić, the current Minister of Defense of BiH, and his party come to power."

A waiter of "dubious morals," as Podžić was labeled in the media, suspected of selling tap water to Arabs instead of bottled water, became the head of catering. Everything is linked to the arrival of Alen Bajić at the helm of the Airport. We asked Director Bajić whether he had taken steps to verify the allegations from the first letter and whether he is protecting Podžić because he is a relative of the Minister of Defense.

- The letter was placed on the union notice board, which does not mean that the letter was created by the Company's union. In accordance with respecting the right to free expression and thought in our Company, YES, I am one of the advocates that any letter should be posted precisely in that place. NO, I am not protecting anyone, nor do I have a need to do so, Bajić wrote in his responses to Patria.

There is a real possibility that behind the letters are not workers but the former management, which has not come to terms with the change. Due to suspicion of that, or something else, the new letter, although the director is an advocate of transparency, did not end up on the notice board. Instead, information appeared that the airport management plans to lease out the airport's catering services.

- The new Management has ordered the preparation of Studies for business processes that represent profit lines, in order to determine their profitability. Consequently, a Study for catering was prepared, which provided relevant information on the operations of the mentioned organizational unit and indicates that in the last few years, especially in the year of the airport's best performance, a loss of several hundred thousand KM was incurred. The new Management will take all measures to ensure stable airport operations, and this specifically means that every business process that negatively impacts operations will be leased out, Bajić emphasized.

Those dissatisfied with the Management's work link this move to an attempt to conceal years of crime, which turned a promising sector at the airport into a loss-maker. Employees at the airport see evidence that business was good, but the money ended up where it shouldn't, in the Passat that the waiter could easily afford. Leasing out everything unprofitable at the airport shows that workers indeed have reason for concern, as some of them could lose their jobs.

In the new letter, Director Bajić is criticized for saving suitable individuals from such a fate. As an example, the transfer of Sead Rožajac, who the letter states was a dishwasher, to the position of driver is cited. Part of the union membership believes that such positions should be reserved for older workers and those who have become disabled during work, and the letter states that Rožajac is Bajić's godfather, which the director denies.

- I find your thesis interesting, 'concerned workers' and so concerned that they worry about the driver's position, just as I find your conclusion interesting about who should be a driver. NO, the named person is not my godfather! - Bajić wrote.

That the letter is not backed only by concerned workers could be indicated by the finger-pointing at the replacement of the security chief, where, according to the letter's authors, who allegedly hide their identity for fear of dismissal, Zoran Dragičević, a man close to the DF president, was appointed. Along with all this, his suspicious education and previous activities are noted. The letter questions his qualifications, and workers grumble because the former chief, they say, was a proven patriot and expert, a man who has been in similar jobs for years, a proven expert and a master of traffic.

- Regarding the replacement of colleague Senad Malić, I must tell you that the mentioned colleague, after being alcohol-tested and testing positive on that test, and the alcohol test was conducted during working hours in accordance with the legal and internal acts of the Company, he himself submitted a request for a change of workplace. I appreciate that your perception of proven patriotism from your perspective is justified, because I assume you believe what you state. Allow me to say that colleague Zoran Dragičević was wounded twice during the previous war and for decades after the war he was engaged in preventing and detecting the most serious criminal offenses and their perpetrators. I am not inclined to do favors as you allude to, Bajić replied.

Although the letter states that a close relative of one of the executive directors was employed as an official translator, Bajić also denies this. Regarding the accusations that have appeared in public that since his arrival he has been working on "placing" DF cadres because he got the position thanks to that party, Bajić responds with the folk saying "Look who is talking to you, not what they are saying."

Who is talking is unknown, because, as we stated, people fear dismissal, which could objectively become a reality. It is indicative that the letter appeared before the appointment of the management, so suspicion remains that certain individuals intended to prevent Bajić's appointment. Nevertheless, what is being said is also important, and the losses in catering are proof. If it is true that the letter was sent to several competent addresses, then it would not be bad for those whose job it is to determine what is going on.