Etihad Airways Insiders Describe A Deeply Toxic Management Culture

Ben, thank you for trying to help so many victims at Etihad. Sadly though, I'm pretty sure Etihad's management has been aware of the problem for years but they never cared to fix it since they themselves were causing it. I went to school at Embry-Riddle with Javier Alija and he was known for getting straight guys drunk and then taking them to his place. Javier is a despicable person who would joke about the "newbies" that had been introduced to his "uncut Quijote" and how they would wake up with a sore anus; he is very lucky none of his victims reported him though I suppose being straight guys they were too ashamed to admit what he had done to them. Then during his time at United, Javier and his network planning and revenue management buddies were all known for getting summer interns drunk and shamelessly sleeping with them. Dr. Nadia at Etihad knows perfectly well how many male employees Erik De and Javier Alija took down to their cars for oral sex as well as to nearby hotels for full sodomy. One would think a company that is based in the UAE, a country that considers homosexuality a crime punishable by a minimum of 6 months in prison, would be alarmed by that behavior, but no, Etihad HR has essentially allowed rapes of employees for years. Guys who refused to engage in sexual activities with Arik and Javier were all fired even when they had no history of bad behavior or poor performance.

The number of comments from Etihad employees on the farewell LinkedIn post or the lack thereof, says a lot. Some even removing comments already posted. All the attractive former crew that made it into the corporate office, the whole company knows how you made it there. It’s not secret that you gave some favours to receive favours. Now the sugar dadddy is gone and so will they.

I worked there and it was the worst airline I have ever worked for in terms of “culture” and work environment. It is a punitive culture actually and lots of people are getting threatened by managers …
Névés is all except being a good guy or a great CEO … he created this environment ..

As with many companies, I have to assume that perception varies greatly depending on the vertical you are in.

None of the comments I have seen - except maybe one regarding promotions - refer to issues going on in the Finance department. This is because all the issues are under commercial or crew (with a bit of operations/technical). Etihad’s CFO is a very decent human being and so are most of his VPs who shouldn’t be dragged into this smear campaign.

Regarding the other departments, what is written here is indeed quite reflective of what is known internally.

Shocked, shocked I say! Give me a break that any of this is a surprise in a Kafala monarchy. Dignity and respect? Please.

@Ben: I realize that this isn’t a sports blog, but the connection between his departure from Etihad and the scandal with Manchester City and the government of Abu Dhabi seems more than tangentially correlated. Many of the core accusations (that seem rather indefensible) include Etihad paying way over-market amount for sponsorship deals (along with other Abu Dhabi-owned enterprises and the government itself) to funnel above the allowed funds to flow to the football team (Man City) owned by the UAE sovereign wealth fund. For American fans, it’s along the lines of Ballmer illegally infusing money into his NBA team, but this went on for over a decade and is exponentially worse.

Having worked at Etihad myself, reading these comments brings back a lot of memories. Unfortunately, the toxic culture people are describing is very real.

In my own experience in the finance department, there was a lack of proper training, clear SOPs, meaningful guidance, and regular check-ins. Yet expectations were high, after-hours demands and weekend work were normalised, and when I tried to push for better processes, I was mocked by my manager for wanting them.

But what really exposed the problem was how the organization handled complaints.

I raised concerns with HR about the way my manager spoke to me and how rude and disrespectful the communication was. And what was the response? They told me it was simply “different ways of talking” and redirected the conversation towards how I could improve my own performance.

Management’s attitude was always essentially the same: “If you don’t like it, leave.” And when this attitude comes from the top, it trickles down through every level of management.

This is exactly how toxic cultures sustain themselves: unacceptable behaviour gets normalised, complaints get deflected, and the employee who speaks up ends up being treated as the problem.

I left Etihad soon after joining. I seriously question whether removing one executive will change anything if the underlying management culture and lack of accountability remain untouched.

It is weird that mainstream media still did not cover the news in some form or in small contexts or sections.
Would be great to hear an answer from the CEO office or ADQ or proposal for an interview.
I also would not be surprised if someone would sue the company in their country of citizenship after reading all those stories.
of course many of the commentators went too far with accusations or speculation, but what i have read here on OMAAT is realistic of what i have lived there

First of all thank you for shedding light on these issues. I’d love to share some information about my time at Etihad. I couldn’t take it for more than a year and a half. I witnessed and experienced some truly inhumane treatment and absolutely outrageous things. How can we get in touch with you?

As you said every airline has its fair share of nonsense that frustrates employees. Things like poor management, questionable promotions, people getting ahead by being on the right person’s good side are to some extent part of corporate life everywhere. But Etihad was genuinely on another level.

To me it’s pretty obvious, that Neves knew and maybe even fostered this environment. It reads like a re-run of the Hogan era. Hogan promised the owners growth, he delivered growth, and how he did that, was not the owners’ concern.
Management under Tony Douglas, when Etihad had to shrink, was actually decent, and the work environment became surprisingly humane. The necessary reduction in workforce was implemented fairly in my view.
Then came Neves and De, with a renewed promise of (profitable) growth, and it seems that once again the results mattered and not how they were achieved. Toxic work culture? Love it or leave it!
Therefore I am very skeptical things will get better for the employees while Neves is CEO. For change to happen a new CEO with his own crew needs to lead Etihad. And if he delivers the results the owners want, why should they let him go?

It’s hard to read all these comments. Etihad is a great brand with an excellent product and wonderful employees, and it’s painful to see its reputation affected by these experiences.
As an Etihad employee, I believe the company’s owners must act quickly and put employees first. Staff ticket benefits have been reduced, including flight availability for employees, and the CEO publicly announced limits on staff tickets for lowergrade employees.
Employees deserve respect, fair treatment, and a workplace free from humiliation and psychological pressure. Leaders who allowed this culture to continue must be held accountable, and long-serving employees deserve recognition for their dedication.
Etihad deserves better, and so do its people. We need real action, accountable leadership, and a culture built on empathy, dignity, and respect. Enough is enough.

If your going to write about toxic Middle East airlines how about you write about Qatar Airways being lead by the ultimate in toxicity, sexism and aggressive behaviour by the likes of Thierry Antinori, Mark Drusch…the list goes on!

Agreed that you should give Qatar some research. Absolutely brutally toxic culture, in my opinion, led by Thierry Antinori, and you should ask a few questions about his behavior with female colleagues in particular. You will be very intrigued by the feedback, I am sure.

This is also the case with Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA) another Mubadala partnership company. The working culture became incredibly toxic when board made the mistake of hiring senior management from BHP and Hydro. The curious case of Supply Chain department in EGA. Year after year, the employees openly complain the issues on survey with their leaders. End result, the employees are targeted and removed by keeping the leadership onboard. There is no accountability for this. Plenty of money to absorb the damage from laying off experienced good employees. The work is suffering and one day we will see EGA in the headlines after Etihad

I’m surprised no one is talking about the passive aggressive behavior or a certain high-ranking member in the legal team who thinks homosexuality is an excuse for arrogance.

As an Emirati born, raised and rooted in Abu Dhabi, my dedication to our nation and its institutions is absolute. Nobody cares more about the standards, legacy, and success of Etihad Airways than those of us who call this city home.

Every house has its issues no organization or international carrier is perfect. Challenges exist everywhere, but you do not fix the issues inside your home by standing in the street or shouting to the neighbors.

The continuous posts has crossed the line from constructive feedback into a targeted campaign serving private interests. Washing corporate linen on public platforms damages the very brand that represents us on the world stage.

We place our full confidence and trust in Etihad’s leadership to guide the airline through its growth and overcome any operational hurdles. Real progress comes through solid internal governance and unwavering support for our leadership not public sensationalism.

Etihad will always be Beyond Borders ❤️

It is pointless to keep waiting for more and more proof while the same problems continue. When so many employees 250+ are speaking up and sharing their experiences on this platform, the company should take these concerns seriously and act now instead of hiding behind the need for further evidence.
Arik was an example of how a great company can be damaged by the wrong leadership. Judging by the comments on this platform, he may not be the only example. How many more employees need to speak up before the company finally understands the scale of the problem?
Instead of wasting time protecting arrogant and toxic leaders, start acting and investing in the people who have actually built this company and kept it running for years. Put your money where it matters: invest in your long-serving employees, recognize their loyalty, improve their working conditions, and give them the respect they deserve.
The money the company saves by removing destructive leadership could be much better spent on the people who do the actual work. And if these experiences and comments gain wider media attention, the financial and reputational cost of rebuilding the company’s image could be far greater.
Stop waiting. Stop protecting the wrong people. Start taking care of the employees who make this company what it is. The longer the company ignores these concerns, the more it risks losing its people, its reputation, and the trust it will be extremely difficult to win back.

While the wider organization continues to reel from a toxic work environment and a glaring lack of accountability at the top, nowhere is this systemic degradation more dangerously evident right now than in the Cargo Division.

The Cargo Division is currently enduring the single most toxic and mismanaged period in its history under the leadership of Stanislas Brun. Operating straight from the Arik De playbook, Brun has instituted a regime driven by relentless intimidation and a total disregard for basic professional respect. Rather than fostering talent or rewarding performance, he has systematically constructed an inner circle composed entirely of unquestioning loyalists whose sole qualification is their willingness to enforce his aggressive tactics and execute his destructive agenda. Anyone who dares to question his directives or present alternative views is immediately sidelined, leaving the entire department paralyzed under a climate of fear and self-preservation.

What makes this operational decay even more alarming is how someone with Stanislas Brun’s heavily documented history was ever cleared by CEO Antonoaldo Neves and HR leadership to hold such executive authority in the first place. Prior to joining Etihad, Brun’s tenure as Managing Director for Air France Cargo in India was marred by severe allegations of sexual harassment and subsequent High Court litigation (Ruchika Singh Chhabra v. Air France India & Anr.). In that landmark case, the Delhi High Court explicitly set aside the internal inquiry that had previously exonerated him, issuing scathing judicial rebukes against procedural irregularities, institutional bias, and the systemic victimization and coercion of the complainant. This is not an isolated oversight—it establishes a clear, documented pattern of executive misconduct, procedural manipulation, and administrative retaliation when facing governance or HR challenges. That Etihad’s executive committee knowingly entrusted a critical division to an individual with such a track record speaks volumes about the complete collapse of due diligence and ethical standards at the highest levels of our airline.

From the moment Stanislas Brun took over as VP Commercial, he immediately deployed the classic Arik De tactic: systematically purging seasoned, long-tenured talent across the Commercial Cargo team under the thin guise of "restructuring." These removals were never about operational performance or business necessity; they were driven entirely by personal vendettas and past friction involving his chief accomplice in this rotten ecosystem, Leonard Rodriguez, another french national like him. Rather than facing any scrutiny, Rodriguez was fast-tracked and promoted straight into a VP role. What leadership fails to acknowledge—or willfully ignores—is that Rodriguez joined Etihad only after being terminated from Qatar Airways for exhibiting the exact same toxic behavior and management style. These are facts easily verified by anyone in the industry, yet Etihad continues to reward individuals who bring nothing but hostility and disruption to the organization.

In order to secure his promotion to C-level as Chief Cargo Officer, Stanislas Brun orchestrated the reintegration of Cargo Operations back into the Cargo Division—a structural move that, while theoretically logical after its split during the COVID period, was actually executed with a far more calculated motive. The moment Brun was handed the top role, the French duo immediately turned their sights on settling another long-standing personal vendetta, this time targeting Thomas Schürmann, Head of Cargo Operations. Virtually overnight, the operational structure was dismantled, creating total internal chaos and throwing critical processes into disarray. In doing so, crucial safety checks and balances were completely swept aside, with industry-validated procedures and vital governance protocols recklessly dismissed as "archaic." True to form, the so-called People Division offered zero oversight or independent scrutiny, while the puppet HR Business Partner simply turned a blind eye to the clear retaliation and operational risk. Yet as devastating as this move was for the team, it was only the beginning of their broader campaign.

Lacking any legitimate behavioral, performance, or disciplinary grounds to fire respected leaders, they once again resorted to the Arik De strategy of "restructuring"—a maneuver executed with the full, silent complicity of an HRBP who refused to perform even the most basic scrutiny. To legitimize this farce, Etihad spent hundreds of thousands of dirhams over the course of an entire year on an external consultant, whose only tangible deliverable was a single, HR-approved organization chart. This costly charade was brought in solely to act as a rubber stamp, providing the cover necessary for the French duo to purge the remaining independent voices who dared to act as a necessary check and balance. No new industry trends were adopted; no modern operational procedures were established—just an exorbitant, year-long consultancy tasked with producing an org chart that any junior analyst could have drawn up in an afternoon. Where was Internal Audit during this flagrant waste of company resources, and why has no one dug beneath the surface to uncover the truth?... Meanwhile, over in Leonard’s domain, fast-tracked promotions were handed out left and right with the exact same HR rubber-stamp—promotions that, regardless of merit, expose a glaring, total lack of consistency and governance across the division.

The open display of narcissism and racial bias has become impossible to ignore. A simple examination of the managerial hires made over the last 12 months—particularly those in high-profile commercial roles—reveals a stark, systemic racial preference, with South Asian and non-Western professionals almost entirely excluded from consideration. Even more alarming is the near-total marginalization of Emirati talent; national employees have been progressively sidelined, with not a single local professional permitted near Stanislas’s inner circle. A quick scroll through internal communications and public social media posts makes his exclusionary preferences glaringly obvious.

Adding insult to injury, Brun continues to burn through hundreds of thousands of dirhams funding a lavish "Etihad Cargo Worldwide Golf Tournament"—an event paid for in full using Etihad funds all across the continents. He spends weeks on end jet-setting around the globe on duty travel along with his favoured circle—a group that shockingly includes a almost a year hired manager, a "golfer" by background, whose sole "job" over the past several months has been organizing and playing in this golf tournament on the company dime. Once again, all of this unfolds with the full endorsement of the HRBP and zero oversight from Internal Audit to review these exorbitant, recurring travel expenses.

Morale across the division has hit rock bottom as employees watch this blatant misuse of resources play out daily. Another prominent figure in Stanislas’s frequent-flying entourage is Lubna Alharam, whose relentless duty travel pattern desperately warrants an immediate Internal Audit review. Instead of focusing on genuine, baseline improvements, this marketing manager has spent company funds consistently arranging and paying for sponsored awards to artificially puff up Etihad Cargo's image—a PR charade that insults the intelligence of the entire industry. These self-congratulatory trophies and self-promoting Brun"s figure in journals and social media, ignore the reality that well-reputed regional competitors continue to deliver solid, dependable customer service. Meanwhile, for over a year, Stanislas has actively dismantled Etihad Cargo’s customer service infrastructure, leaving key clients in complete chaos with a total lack of clear points of contact or reliable support.

When it comes to fundamental checks and balances, the degradation within the Cargo Division transitions from an internal culture crisis to an alarming regulatory liability. The air transportation of Munitions of War is a strictly governed domain regulated by international bodies and the United Nations—a sensitive area that has drawn continuous scrutiny from the EU toward the UAE. Etihad had historically maintained strict, full alignment with these international regulations until internal checks and balances were systematically dismantled. In mid-2025, Stanislas manipulated an executive approval to bypass adherence to UN regulations, directly placing Etihad in severe breach of international law, all with the active complicity of another key figure in his inner circle: Grant L. Kempt, a South African national. Internal Audit must immediately investigate the origin country of these shipments; it is no coincidence that the first and constant streams of illegal Munitions of War shipments began flying out directly from South Africa immediately after the regulation was breached.

What makes this situation even more dangerous is the existence of explicit written evidence. Email threads reveal Grant Kempt—with Stanislas Brun deliberately copied as a show of force and intimidation—systematically demanding that these dangerous shipments bypass mandatory security clearances, recklessly asserting that "the customer assures it is only general cargo." This is not merely a violation of safety protocols; it is a direct breach of international customs regulations put in writing without shame or hesitation. Where are the compliance oversight mechanisms?... The individual tasked with enforcing governance and protecting Etihad’s operational reputation, another fast-tracked inner-circle loyalist, Abdul Wasif, has consistently turned a blind eye to these flagrant regulatory breaches and hazardous practices orchestrated by Brun and Kempt.

With the complete, willing blindness of the HRBP once again on full display, Stanislas has effectively turned the corporate assistants into personal servants—treating these dedicated individuals with a level of disrespect reminiscent of Miranda Priestly in "The Devil Wears Prada", leaving them subject to workplace intimidation and verbal mistreatment even by Stanislas's wife.

No post detailing the mismanagement of the Cargo Division would be complete without addressing **SmartTrack**—a prime example of unchecked executive whimsy, governance bypass, and commercial failure under Stanislas Brun.

Conceived and forced through as a personal pet project, SmartTrack was launched with fanfare but zero proof-of-concept, market validation, or rigorous testing. One year after its official rollout, the initiative stands as an utter commercial disaster: zero sales generated, zero customer adoption, and a complete waste of departmental resources.

What makes this project far more alarming than a mere commercial misfire is the blatant disregard for corporate procurement governance. Bypassing established procurement protocols and competitive bidding policies, a massive procurement contract for tracking hardware tags was arranged directly between Stanislas and the vendor outside of standard compliance channels.

Internal Audit must immediately step in to investigate how such a large-scale hardware acquisition was negotiated and executed without going through competitive sourcing or proper authorization. Furthermore, Audit must examine whether a formal, verified business case was ever submitted prior to committing company resources, and hold leadership accountable for the complete lack of ROI after a full year of total commercial non-performance. SmartTrack is not an isolated mistake; it is a textbook case of how personal vanity projects are allowed to override basic financial controls, procurement regulations, and risk management when executive oversight is completely absent.

The Cargo Division has ceased to function as a corporate enterprise; it has been transformed into his personal kingdom, running completely without oversight or restraint. Circling back to the Arik De scandal, this toxic empire continues to flourish because CEO Antonoaldo Neves turns a blind eye, and Dr. Nadia—as the executive ultimately accountable for the most incompetent HRBP scheme in the corporate world—refuses to intervene.

Mrs. Karen Clayton, here is your explicit Speak Up alert. Every single employee reading this unfold stands ready as a witness to whether real, corrective actions will finally be taken, or if leadership will continue to let this airline burn from within.

Sadly this hasn't started now and as you've mentioned it all started when former CEO Tony Douglas left. I don't know which employees you have been in contact with but it is worth speaking to some of the redundant employees that were sacrificed during Covid pandemic, not only they were promised to be hired back when operations return to its fullest, a promise never kept, but they were treated in the most humiliating way you could imagine! Whether in person at the Etihad main office or online on platforms such as LinkedIn. A name that comes to mind which Jihad Richard Matta, he has given instructions not to entertain nor listen to any of the redundant crews in any shape or form and while Tony Douglas has also given instructions via direct writen and recorded video communications to hire back any employee that wishes to return and even ordered an Alumni page to be created to keep ex-crew and employees informed of vacancies, everything ndhifa changed the minute he keft.
While airlines like Emirates and Qatar airways have opened their doors to their previous employees , we were hit by a straight rejection when we clicked the apply button.
Many lives of those who gave blood and sweat for the company have been ruined and still suffering the repercussions of the heartless, unprofessional and vindictive behavior of few senior managers!
I'm willing to speak to anyone who would listen.