MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Low-cost carrier Zest Air's license was suspended Friday, August 16 for several violations of safety regulations.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) informed Zest Air it suspended its Air Operator Certificate in a letter Friday.
"This agency is alarmed of Zest Air's series of serious deviations and infractions of the rules and standards prescribed under the Philippine Civil Aviation Regulations (PCAR)," read the letter signed by CAAP deputy general John Andrews. The letter was addressed to juice magnate and Zest Air chairman Alfredo Yao.
"[Your airline is] hereby precluded to engage in air carrier operations, which shall take effect upon receipt of this notice/letter and shall remain in effect until this Authority is assured that the necessary corrective actions and compliance with aviation safety standards [have] been undertaken by your airline," Andrews said.
He also said that upon receipt of the letter, only Zest Air flights bound for Manila would be allowed to fly. All Zest Air flights would be terminated after.
Andrews said Zest Air violated, among others, Subsection 9.2.2.2 (a) of PCAR, which states that: "Each operator shall have an accountable manager… who has corporate authority for ensuring that all flight operations and maintenance activities can be financed and carried out to the highest degree of safety standards."
The other violations were:
-Failure to check aircraft bags, flight manifest, weather, etc.
-Failure to present an airman license during ramp inspection
-Series of occurrences like fuel overflow that affected several flight operations
-Refueling with passengers on board
-Excessive flight duty time of pilots
The violations were committed within the period January 2012 to August 2013.
Under surveillance
On August 2, CAAP placed Zest Air under "heightened" surveillance following a series of flight cancellations brought about by mechanical problems.
Zest Air cancelled 8 flights on August 1, and 9 on August 2 due to "aircraft situation." In July, the carrier cancelled a total of 33 flights, mostly in Kalibo.
Zest Air has a fleet of 10 Airbus A320s and one A319 flying to 9 domestic and 5 international destinations via the Ninoy Aquino International Airport as well as hubs in Kalibo and Cebu.
The airline flies to Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Kalibo, Puerto Princesa, Tacloban, and Tagbilaran. Its overseas destinations include Shanghai, Jinjiang, Incheon, Kota Kinabalu, and Kuala Lumpur.
In May, Yao entered into a deal with Philippines' AirAsia Inc., unit of AirAsia Berhad of Malaysia, giving the latter 85% economic interest and 49% voting interest in Zest Air as well as 100% interest in Asiawide Airways Inc.
In exchange, Yao got $16 million and 13% interest in PH AirAsia, which operates out of the Clark International Airport in Pampanga.
Zest Air's suspension comes amid efforts by regulators to enhance local aviation safety standards.
The Philippines is working to get upgraded by the US Federal Aviation Authority (US FAA) back to Category 1 status. CAAP said this is the next goal following the decision of the European Union to remove the Philippines from its aviation safety blacklist.
The US FAA upgrade is needed before local carriers can mount additional flights to the US. – Rappler.com
http://www.rappler.com/business/industr ... violations
All Zest Air Philippines Flights Suspended
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Re: All Zest Air Philippines Flights Suspended
Here is the official press release of Zest Air on their main website as a reaction to the allegations:
PRESS STATEMENT OF ZEST AIR MANAGEMENT
In response to the order of suspension from CAAP, we are surprised that this was issued without giving us an opportunity to properly respond to their issues raised. The management of ZestAir have been in full cooperation with CAAP in ensuring that the maintenance programs and policies of ZestAir are in place. All findings in CAAP’s letter have already been appropriately addressed and we believe that they do not merit suspension and grounding of our operations.
We wish to highlight and reiterate that all eleven (11) aircraft are safe and airworthy. We will never risk the safety of our passengers. The reason why management in the past weeks have decided to voluntarily stop our aircraft from flying is to proactively ensure that any issues discovered, are rectified or properly addressed before we use the aircraft for commercial operations.
With due respect to CAAP, our reports on how we addressed the incident in Kalibo reflected this and is confirmed by CAAP inspectors that no maintenance procedural lapses were committed and that the aircraft concerned is not subject to any technical problems. The incident in Tagbilaran would have been addressed sooner had we not been required to have the maintenance rectification inspected by CAAP personnel. It is unfortunate that Tagbilaran airport has only one runway and ramp, and this is the reason why the incident snowballed to have affected so many passengers.
Our accountable manager is Ambassador Alfredo M. Yao who is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Zest Air. In addition, all our mechanics have valid licenses to perform their jobs despite CAAP’s concern where one of our mechanics did not possess the license physically on him but was stored within the work area. Furthermore, none of our pilots or crew are exceeding their duty time limitations.
ZestAir will be submitting a copy of the comprehensive improvement program that is currently being implemented in ZestAir to provide our passengers an improved experience, product and services. We have been investing significantly in our operations and fleet to further raise the standards of excellence across all aspects of personnel, parts, and maintenance/technical services.
http://www.flyzest.com/
PRESS STATEMENT OF ZEST AIR MANAGEMENT
In response to the order of suspension from CAAP, we are surprised that this was issued without giving us an opportunity to properly respond to their issues raised. The management of ZestAir have been in full cooperation with CAAP in ensuring that the maintenance programs and policies of ZestAir are in place. All findings in CAAP’s letter have already been appropriately addressed and we believe that they do not merit suspension and grounding of our operations.
We wish to highlight and reiterate that all eleven (11) aircraft are safe and airworthy. We will never risk the safety of our passengers. The reason why management in the past weeks have decided to voluntarily stop our aircraft from flying is to proactively ensure that any issues discovered, are rectified or properly addressed before we use the aircraft for commercial operations.
With due respect to CAAP, our reports on how we addressed the incident in Kalibo reflected this and is confirmed by CAAP inspectors that no maintenance procedural lapses were committed and that the aircraft concerned is not subject to any technical problems. The incident in Tagbilaran would have been addressed sooner had we not been required to have the maintenance rectification inspected by CAAP personnel. It is unfortunate that Tagbilaran airport has only one runway and ramp, and this is the reason why the incident snowballed to have affected so many passengers.
Our accountable manager is Ambassador Alfredo M. Yao who is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Zest Air. In addition, all our mechanics have valid licenses to perform their jobs despite CAAP’s concern where one of our mechanics did not possess the license physically on him but was stored within the work area. Furthermore, none of our pilots or crew are exceeding their duty time limitations.
ZestAir will be submitting a copy of the comprehensive improvement program that is currently being implemented in ZestAir to provide our passengers an improved experience, product and services. We have been investing significantly in our operations and fleet to further raise the standards of excellence across all aspects of personnel, parts, and maintenance/technical services.
http://www.flyzest.com/
Zest Air back in the air....
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) today (Tuesday) lifted its suspension order on low budget carrier Zest Air.
"We are pleased to announce that the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has already lifted its suspension order on Zest Airways Inc., effective today, 20 August 2013," the company said in a statement posted on its Facebook page.
Zest Air also assured its passengers that its flights to Manila, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Kalibo, Iloilo, Puerto Princesa, Tacloban, Tagbilaran, Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Shanghai and Incheon will resume "as soon as possible."
"Thank you for all your kind understanding and support," the company said.
Related story: Passengers of grounded Zest Air stranded at NAIA
CAAP deputy director John Andrews said the suspension order was lifted after the airline addressed suspected safety violations and was granted its Airline Operator's Certificate required to resume operations.
Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1
The CAAP said it has inspected three of the budget airline's three planes, which have been cleared for flight under aviation sfety standards and will continue to inspect the rest of the fleet.
Zest Air was grounded Saturday for allegedly violating safety procedures and guidelines including missing fuel coupling cap and refueling while passengers were onboard aircraft.
"In the course of this monitoring, this agency is alarmed of Zest Air’s series of serious deviations and infractions of the rules and standards," Andrews said as he announces the airline's suspension on Saturday.
The suspension left thousands of passengers stranded. Some of the passengers were given the option to transfer their booking to other airlines or get a full refund.
The company reportedly lost P70 million (1,2 million euro) a day due to its fleet's grounding.
"We are pleased to announce that the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has already lifted its suspension order on Zest Airways Inc., effective today, 20 August 2013," the company said in a statement posted on its Facebook page.
Zest Air also assured its passengers that its flights to Manila, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Kalibo, Iloilo, Puerto Princesa, Tacloban, Tagbilaran, Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Shanghai and Incheon will resume "as soon as possible."
"Thank you for all your kind understanding and support," the company said.
Related story: Passengers of grounded Zest Air stranded at NAIA
CAAP deputy director John Andrews said the suspension order was lifted after the airline addressed suspected safety violations and was granted its Airline Operator's Certificate required to resume operations.
Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1
The CAAP said it has inspected three of the budget airline's three planes, which have been cleared for flight under aviation sfety standards and will continue to inspect the rest of the fleet.
Zest Air was grounded Saturday for allegedly violating safety procedures and guidelines including missing fuel coupling cap and refueling while passengers were onboard aircraft.
"In the course of this monitoring, this agency is alarmed of Zest Air’s series of serious deviations and infractions of the rules and standards," Andrews said as he announces the airline's suspension on Saturday.
The suspension left thousands of passengers stranded. Some of the passengers were given the option to transfer their booking to other airlines or get a full refund.
The company reportedly lost P70 million (1,2 million euro) a day due to its fleet's grounding.