AUSTRALIA – The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has temporarily grounded low-cost domestic carrier Tiger Airways Australia’s fights due to safety concerns.
Australia’s CASA division said the suspension would be for an initial period to 9 July on all domestic fights within Australia. However, the airline’s international flight have been cleared to continue.
Tiger Airways Australia, which is part-owned by Singapore Airlines, has continued to take bookings for flights from 9 July, when it expects to resume services following a consultation with CASA.
The authority, which has the primary responsibility for the maintenance, enhancement and promotion of the safety of civil aviation in Australia, said it had been left with no option after a series of events raised concerns “about the airline’s ability to continue to conduct operations safely.
“In the circumstances, CASA no longer has confidence in the ability of Tiger Airways Australia to satisfactorily address the safety issues that have been identified.”
Changes CASA wanted to see before lifting the ban included changes to fatigue management, improving the proficiency of Tiger Airways Australia’s pilots, improvements to pilot training and checking processes.
“Our goal is to resume our services as quickly as possible while restoring the confidence of both CASA and the Australian public at large that safety underpins our operations at all times,” said Head of Communications and Marketing for Tiger Airways, Vanessa Regan. “Affected passengers will be automatically refunded,” she added.
The airline urged customers with bookings within Australia between now and 6am on Saturday 9 July to not travel to the airport. “We would also like to reiterate that Tiger Airways is committed to the airline’s long-term future in Australia.”
Any conference-related news? Email sarah@mashmedia.net
