Tiger Airways Australia hits new safety snag

SYDNEY: Grounded low-cost carrier Tiger Airways Australia hit fresh problems Friday, with aviation regulators knocking back a redrafted safety manual in a move that will see its flight ban extended.

The Australian arm of Singapore's Tiger Airways has been grounded since July 2 over "serious and imminent" safety risks related to pilot training, fatigue management and other issues.

Negotiations for the ban to be lifted were in their final stages this week but the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) said "some of the documentation that they have provided is not complete and accurate and up to date."

"We've asked them to revise that, which they are doing, and obviously we can't move forward with the matter until we get that back from them and reassess it," CASA spokesman Peter Gibson told AFP.

"That obviously has delayed things a bit."

Gibson said it was unclear how long that delay would be, but dismissed reports in Australian media that it could be until the end of August.

The problems relate to "key safety documents, manuals essentially that underpin the operations of the airline" which CASA had asked Tiger to amend before it would be allowed to fly again.

The manual outlining how Tiger would manage and process its operational data was of particular concern, Gibson said, which was "quite central to safety."

The airline's Singapore-based parent company Tiger Airways Holdings issued a statement to the Singapore Stock Exchange saying it "continues to work constructively" with CASA.

"The two parties are in ongoing discussions to resolve the issues," the company said.

"There is no information available yet as to when Tiger Airways Australia may resume services, but it is committed to do so as soon as possible."

The company said Tiger Airways Australia incurred a SGD$23.2 million (US$19 million) loss in the first quarter, compared with a SGD$10.6 million loss in the same period in 2010, due to higher fuel prices and disruption from the Chile ash cloud in June.

"With the loss incurred in the first quarter, and the suspension of all domestic services in Australia for more than a month, we expect Tiger Airways Australia to report a net loss for this financial year," Tiger Holdings said, reporting a SGD$20.6 million after-tax loss for the quarter company-wide.

"The Group's financial performance will be significantly affected by the expected losses of Tiger Airways Australia, while being exposed to high and volatile jet fuel prices," it added.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011