Tiger Airways resumes limited Australian service
Added by Nigel Shelbourne on August 11, 2011
Passengers board a Tiger Airways flight
Tiger Airways announced on Wednesday that Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority has given them the green light to resume operations in Australia.
Tiger Airways said in a statement on its web site that it will resume limited operations beginning Friday August 12. The airline will resume flights between Tullamarine/Melbourne Airport and Sydney, with other routes to be announced soon.
The airline, a subsidiary of a Singapore-based company, was suspended by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority on July 2 2011 for a number of safety issues. The suspension was prompted after an incident with a Tiger Airways flight landing at Avalon Airport, Melbourne’s second busiest airport. The Tiger Airways Airbus A320 flew below the lowest safe altitude as it was landing; the flight subsequently landed safely and no injuries were reported.
The suspension was initially expected to last for only a week, but was extended until August 1 by a Federal Court amid questions about the airline’s training program and safety procedures, raised as a result of Civil Aviation Safety Authority’s investigation.
Tiger Airways said it has reduced its Australian fleet to eight A-320 airbuses, down from ten, and has streamlined its operations by closing the crew base at Adelaide Airport.
Tiger Airways posted a US$ 17m loss in its first quarter.