Malaysia Airlines now under monthly audits, reduced licence, after technical issues – Technologist

Malaysia’s civil aviation regulator has cut the duration of Malaysia Airlines’ air operator certificate from three years to one, following a probe into technical issues faced by the state carrier, the transport minister said on Wednesday.

The airline’s parent, Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), had said on Saturday it plans to temporarily reduce its flights and routes across its carriers until December, after service disruptions earlier this month.

Following the investigation by the Civil Aviation Authority Malaysia (CAAM), Malaysia Airlines has prepared a mitigation plan, minister Anthony Loke said.

Malaysia Airlines will also have to provide monthly reports to CAAM, Loke said.

MAG, which also operates carrier Firefly and Muslim pilgrimage service provider Amal, has said it would take immediate steps to address significant issues that had led to operational difficulties including supply chain, technical and manpower constraints, and other post-pandemic challenges.

It also said it had been affected by delayed deliveries of new aircraft, leading to fewer planes being available for operations.

Based on the findings, Loke said among the significant issues that caused the recent technical disruptions are mechanical components and a lack of skilled workers to carry out aircraft maintenance.

“Recruitment programmes will also be carried out aggressively by the airline,” he said.

Sixty-three of the 411 skilled workers at the Malaysia Airlines engineering department had also left the company since January.

He added that the national carrier will also have to source sufficient aircraft spare parts from its original equipment manufacturer.

Loke said CAAM will continue to monitor and carry out special audits on airlines operating in Malaysia to ensure all safety and security aspects are strictly followed.

“All airlines must abide. There is no compromise when it comes to passenger safety,” he said, adding that the report was also presented to the Cabinet.

Loke said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim views the matter seriously and had also chaired a meeting with Khazanah Nasional’s board of directors on Tuesday.

Khazanah Nasional is the sole shareholder of Malaysia Airlines via its subsidiary, MAG.

“The Prime Minister had instructed Khazanah to carry out immediate mitigation measures which will be relayed to the Malaysia Airlines management for further action,” he said.

This comes after the recent spate of technical incidents plaguing the national carrier, which led to incidents of MAS flights turning back and making emergency stops.

On August 22, a MAS flight heading to Medina had to return to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and this is the third such incident this month.

According to data available on the aircraft tracking site FlightRadar24, MH152 turned back while flying over the Nicobar Islands in the Andaman Sea.

A day earlier, Shanghai-bound MAS flight MH386 was forced to turn back to KLIA due to a cabin pressure issue.

On August 20, flight MH128 en route to Kuala Lumpur from Melbourne had to make an emergency stop at Alice Springs in Australia’s Northern Territories.

Last week, former Transport Minister Dr Wee Ka Siong urged the Transport Ministry to immediately investigate and assist Malaysia Airlines to prevent similar incidents from happening.