PETALING JAYA: The Department of
Civil Aviation, which has spotted several “shortcomings” in Malindo
Air’s operations, has given the airline six months to rectify the
problems.
DCA director-general Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman (
pic)
said an annual audit was conducted on the airline last month and his
department had compiled a “list of findings” which required
rectification.
Among others, the DCA ordered Malindo Air to resolve its documentations, management of aircraft and flight operations.
The airline’s operating licence expired on Feb 28 and the department
had approved a six-month extension until Aug 31 to allow the company to
concentrate on resolving the problems, he added.
“There are positive signs Malindo Air will rectify the problems we
have pointed out to them. In fact, some of them have already been
corrected.
“Once these problems are cleared, we will decide the validity period of the airline’s operating licence,” he told
The Star.
The normal practice is for the DCA to issue an operating licence to
an airline for a period of one year or a maximum of two years.
Despite the findings that need to be resolved, Azharuddin stressed that the airline had not committed any serious violation.
“Otherwise, we would have grounded them and not given the six-month extension,” he said.
Azharuddin added that Malindo Air was not the only airline which the
department had ordered to resolve certain issues before it could have
its operating licence renewed.
He was confident the airline would resolve all its issues before
August, adding that the department was monitoring its “rectification
works in order for us to approve the operating licence”.
Malindo Air, which began operations in March last year, is a joint
venture between National Aerospace and Defence Industries and Lion Air
of Indonesia.
(first appeared on The Star on March 23, 2015)
