Maintenance Review: Australian carrier under investigation

announcement follows the grounding of Tiger Airways until at least August 1 due to serious and imminent safety risks

SYDNEY: Australia’s aviation regulator said Saturday that it had launched a review of maintenance at budget airline Jetstar, a Qantas offshoot, in the wake of another low-cost carrier being grounded. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) said it was examining databases and conducting checks at Jetstar after records mix-up resulted in some planes missing routine inspections. The announcement follows the grounding of fellow budget airline Tiger Airways Australia until at least August 1 due to ‘serious and imminent’ safety risks – the first such ban of an entire carrier in Australian history. Jetstar said it took four of its Airbus A320 jets out of service on Thursday for overdue works.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 10^th, 2011.