The saga of troubled low-cost carrier MyAirline continues as the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) has just announced that they are suspending the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) for the airline effective immediately. The suspension will be for 90 days, pending further investigations by CAAM.
The AOC is the approval or license granted by the CAAM to operate flights in Malaysia, either chartered or scheduled. In this case, the AOC was suspended as the airline abruptly suspended its operations last week.
CAAM said that they made a safety audit of MyAirline for their operation period between 29 May 2023 to 1 June 2023, and did not see any indication that the airline was in financial distress during that time.
The outcome of that safety audit resulted in the two-year extension of the AOC which was granted recently as the previous AOC expired on 30 September 2023.
CAAM says that per international regulations, AOC holders need to provide evidence indicating financial solvency to them. This is to ensure that the operator has the resources to conduct its planned operations. The operator also needs to send a written notification to CAAM if there are any financial issues that have arisen. So far, MYAirline has yet to send in that notification to CAAM.
Like most parties, the sudden operation suspension took CAAM by surprise. A new and detailed safety audit will be carried out by CAAM on MYAirline during the suspension period to reassess if the airline has the capability to continue as an operator.
The question that is in everybody’s mind is how CAAM missed any indication of problems with MYAirlines during the safety audit. It is hoped that this investigation will shed light on the real reason why MYAirline suspended its operation so abruptly.
Affected customers meanwhile can request for refund with the airline through its official customer service email. The airline shared that they are working to expedite refunds for customers. In the meantime, Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia and Batik Air are offering limited time deals for MYAirline customers looking to continue with their journey.
