Skopje, 5 January 2024 (MIA) – Four people involved in the attack of employees of the national air navigation service provider M-NAV were called in for a police interview to be followed by appropriate measures in coordination with the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) said late Thursday. 

The press release adds that search is underway for another four people in connection with the attack, noting that the MoI will ensure ongoing security measures at the M-NAV building. 

Earlier on Thursday the Ministry said that an employee of the national air navigation service provider M-NAV, together with several other unindentified persons, physically attacked three other M-NAV employees. 

"Today, Jan. 4, 2024, around 3:15 pm, a member of the M-NAV staff reported to the Petrovec Police Station that there had been a violation of public order and peace in the building," the release said.

The release added that an employee identified by the initials B.N., together with several unindentified persons, had physically attacked P.B., E.K. and B.R., also employees of M-NAV.

Police were immediately sent to the premises to investigate and take action to solve the case.

Earlier, Trade Union of Air Traffic Controllers leader Aleksandar Tasevski in a social media post said that air traffic control employees had been attacked in the M-NAV national air navigation service provider's air traffic control facility.

Tasevski wrote that several vehicles had come to the air traffic control facility. People got out, went inside, started to argue, and then attacked air traffic control employees, he said. He noted that the people were not stopped by any of the security guards on duty.

The attack happened after the union leader's press conference earlier on Thursday. He had said that twenty to thirty air traffic controllers and their assistants working for M-NAV would start resigning from their management positions in response to the latest job announcement in this institution.

He also said he had been notified Wednesday by the Department for Violent Crime at the Ministry of Interior that M-NAV directors Fahrudin Hamidi and Fasim Deari reported an email of his because of "feeling of threat to their life security" under Article 144 paragraph two of the Criminal Code.

In the meantime, the Trade Union of Air Traffic Controllers is expected to decide on a strike action until law authorites solve the case in which national air navigation service provider M-NAV air traffic controllers were attacked at work.

In a Sitel TV interview on Thursday, Tasevski said the incident had caused outrage and M-NAV staff were considering the possibility of closing the sky for air traffic.

"A meeting will be held late tonight," Tasevski said. "The possibility of closing the entire airspace is not ruled out until the perpetrators of today's event are punished. Because, above all, we must protect each of our air traffic controller coworkers, each of this company's employees as well as the passengers who fly over."

In addition, the government said Thursday that at its next session, scheduled for Jan. 9, it will discuss ways to resolve the situation in the national air navigation service provider M-NAV. Proposed solutions include dismissing all managers and management board members, the government said in a press release. mr/nn/

Photo: MIA archive