Skopje, 10 November 2022 (MIA) - M-NAV, the national service provider for air navigation, dismissed the trade union's allegations involving the procedure for selecting candidates to attend a training for air traffic controllers saying the process is under way according to the action plan and it is expected to be completed soon within the set deadline according to all national and international standards. Air traffic controllers, it said, are selected according to Eurocontrol recommendations, FEAST tests, medical checkups, interviews conducted by Danish experts picked in a public procurement procedure opened by M-NAV. "Allegations and speculation that we don't trust the Danish experts are not true, on the contrary, we have excellent cooperation. Also, allegations that the steering board had stated it disputed the selection of the eight candidates or that the candidates are not the right ones are not true," M-NAV said in a rebuttal sent to the media. Aleksandar Tasevski, head of the trade union of air traffic controllers, has said the union, made up of professionals, is determined to enable the competition for air traffic controllers at M-NAV according to regulations to be fully implemented. He confirmed that a letter, supported by assistant directors, sector heads, main instructors and experts, was sent to M-NAV's management asking for their dismissal. As a result, he said, the training after the selection of the candidates for air traffic controllers at M-NAV hasn't started yet. Twelve out of 250 applicants were selected. The company tasked by the country to manage civil air navigation, Tasevski said, hasn't yet okayed the start of the training of the selected candidates even though a licensed company from Denmark was charged with the selection. He said that in talks with M-NAV's managed they demanded that the training start all the while pointing out the consequences of a suspended training. "We have doubts that the candidates close to the management and to high-ranking politicians weren't selected, which is why the company is now trying to terminate the process and to introduce new criteria for selection in order for them to qualify. The money invested will be wasted and it's possible that we even might have to pay fines," stated Tasevski. Dushko Arosvki, the government spokesman, said earlier that according to the information it has, the procedure for picking candidates to be trained for air traffic controllers is still under way adding that M-NAV is obligated to follow the strict rules for air traffic of Eurocontrol and the international system for air traffic management.