Helios Airways has admitted it previously experienced cabin decompression but has dismissed a raft of rumours surrounding Sunday’s crash.
All 115 passengers and six crew members died when the Boeing 737 from Larnaca to Prague crashed in hills outside Athens.
The airline has revealed it has suffered one minor incident of cabin decompression, believed to be the reason behind the crash, in its six-year history.
However, claims a passenger sent a text message to his cousin was a hoax, the airline said.
It also dismissed suggestions its Larnaca head office was raided by police. Instead it said it is co-operating fully with police, who visited its offices to photocopy documents.
Helios Airways said it released the passenger names to police “in timely fashion” and did not release names to the press until all passengers’ families had been informed. There were press reports the airline has refused to release names.
The carrier said its flight programme will operate as normal, although it might be subject to delays, and has not been grounded as reported.
A further statement will be released tomorrow following an incident review meeting in the morning.
Meanwhile, Helios Airways’ sister company Libra Holidays claimed to be unaffected by the accident.
Sales and marketing director Paul Riches said the operator only used the airline for 3% of its flight programme.
“All of Libra’s holidays are operating as normal and current booking levels to Cyprus appear to have remained unaffected over the past few days,” Riches said.