The Croatia Airlines Cabin Crew Union (SKOZ) which gathers carrier’s flight attendants, will launch a strike on Friday February 26th, union representatives told a news conference on Tuesday.

The union president Suzana Artukovic Vuksan said that the strike will be organized as the trade union and Croatian Airlines Management Board failed to agree on a new collective agreement.

Under an agreement regulating jobs and duties that must not be discontinued during a strike, 20 per cent of cabin crew must work, which is about 30 flight attendants, so 11 Croatia Airlines planes would be ready to take off on Friday.

"We agreed to a five per cent salary cut and we asked to see how the money was being used, but the management board declined our request," Artukovic Vuksan was quoted as saying by Croatian state news agency HINA.

Croatia Airlines said in a statement on Monday that union demands were unrealistic and that the management board said the strike was unjustified.

The management board claims that it put on the table a new collective agreement, despite the financial difficulties that the company had faced during the global crisis.

Croatia Airlines announced on its website that will do their best to minimise the effects of strike.

All passengers with tickets for one of the cancelled flights due to strike will be entitled to one change free of charge, under the condition that the ticket was bought before 22nd February. If they should decide not to travel at all, their ticket will be refunded.

Travellers are advised to call Croatia Airlines’ Contact centre at + 385 1 6676 555 for detailed information and to check its website (www.croatiaairlines.com) for changes in the flights schedule.