THE grounding of Tiger Airways should serve as a wake-up call for the entire aviation industry, experts warn, just days after a damning report cited concerns about the safety of budget carriers and pilot training standards.
Passengers and airports across the country were thrown into chaos yesterday after a ruling by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to suspend all of Tiger Airways' domestic flights from 9pm (WST) Friday, amid grave safety concerns.
The fallout threatens to derail the travel plans of more than 35,000 commuters including thousands of eastern states families preparing for school holidays with Tiger's flying ban to remain in place until at least Saturday.
In the toughest penalty ever imposed on Australia's domestic aviation industry, CASA suspended every Tiger flight saying it had taken the action believing the airline posed a "serious and imminent risk to air safety".It is the first time CASA has grounded an entire airline.
Independent Senator Nick Xenophon said the move highlighted the need for the Federal Government to urgently implement the recommendations of the senate committee report into aviation safety handed down just a few days ago.
"That report has a number of recommendations into aviation safety and what needs to be done for pilot training to stop this 'race to the bottom'," he said.
The report delivered 22 recommendations to improve air travel safety, particularly on low-cost airlines, including tougher safety standards, better-incident reporting guidelines, increased training for pilots and more funding for CASA.The inquiry, which included evidence from pilots, cabin crew and the major airlines, also heard concerns from pilots and cabin crews about fatigue and demanding schedules.
CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said the action was not taken lightly and was the culmination of a number of worrying events this year, including the latest incident on Thursday when a Tiger Airways Airbus A320 flew into Melbourne's Avalon airport below the lowest safe altitude.
"From our perspective, we've got to concentrate on safety," Mr Gibson said. "Our job is to make sure that the highest safety standards we have in Australia are met by all airlines."
In March, CASA issued Tiger with a show cause notice, centred on aircraft maintenance, pilot proficiency and the competency of the airline's overall safety management system.
Since then, pilots have twice flown below the lowest safe altitude into Melbourne airports: an Airbus A320 on approach into Tullamarine airport on June 7 and Thursday's incident, also involving an A320 at Avalon.
"All on top of each other, (they) add up to a position where CASA has lost confidence in Tiger's ability to manage safety appropriately," Mr Gibson said.
CASA has given the Singapore-owned company five days to explain why it should be allowed to take to the skies again. After that, the regulator will decide whether to apply to the Federal Court for an extension of the flying ban.
In a double blow for Tiger, it yesterday emerged that financial troubles had dogged the discount carrier, with financial documents lodged with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission revealing the airline made a $6.7 million net loss in the financial year ending March 31, 2011.
Overall, the airline's Statement of Comprehensive Income shows total revenue was $220,207,000 while operating costs hit $227,022,000, with rocketing fuel prices hitting the bottom line hard.
Last financial year, Tiger reported a net profit of more than $2.8 million.
If the carrier is grounded for a week, it could incur a loss of more than $4.2 million in revenue including passenger seat revenue and extras including food and other service sales. A month on the ground could see a loss of more than $11 million.
Yesterday, the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association said Tiger's cheap airfares had created a "race to the bottom" and had cut fares to a point where competition was unsustainable.
The association's federal secretary, Steve Purvinas, said defects on planes should be routinely reported to engineers, but this was difficult at Tiger because they did not have in-house engineers.
The Australian and International Pilots Association said there had been concern for some time about the dropping safety standards in Australian aviation.
Yesterday Tiger Airways offered a statement on its website saying the airline "continues to co-operate fully with the industry regulator and safety underpins our operations at all times".
sThe company operates 60 domestic flights a day with its Australian fleet of 10 aircraft, flying to most capital cities and some regional centres.
The company said customers with bookings from now until 6am on Saturday July 9 would be offered a credit for deferred travel with it or a full refund.
Passengers and airports across the country were thrown into chaos yesterday after a ruling by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to suspend all of Tiger Airways' domestic flights from 9pm (WST) Friday, amid grave safety concerns.
The fallout threatens to derail the travel plans of more than 35,000 commuters including thousands of eastern states families preparing for school holidays with Tiger's flying ban to remain in place until at least Saturday.
In the toughest penalty ever imposed on Australia's domestic aviation industry, CASA suspended every Tiger flight saying it had taken the action believing the airline posed a "serious and imminent risk to air safety".It is the first time CASA has grounded an entire airline.
Independent Senator Nick Xenophon said the move highlighted the need for the Federal Government to urgently implement the recommendations of the senate committee report into aviation safety handed down just a few days ago.
"That report has a number of recommendations into aviation safety and what needs to be done for pilot training to stop this 'race to the bottom'," he said.
The report delivered 22 recommendations to improve air travel safety, particularly on low-cost airlines, including tougher safety standards, better-incident reporting guidelines, increased training for pilots and more funding for CASA.The inquiry, which included evidence from pilots, cabin crew and the major airlines, also heard concerns from pilots and cabin crews about fatigue and demanding schedules.
CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said the action was not taken lightly and was the culmination of a number of worrying events this year, including the latest incident on Thursday when a Tiger Airways Airbus A320 flew into Melbourne's Avalon airport below the lowest safe altitude.
"From our perspective, we've got to concentrate on safety," Mr Gibson said. "Our job is to make sure that the highest safety standards we have in Australia are met by all airlines."
In March, CASA issued Tiger with a show cause notice, centred on aircraft maintenance, pilot proficiency and the competency of the airline's overall safety management system.
"All on top of each other, (they) add up to a position where CASA has lost confidence in Tiger's ability to manage safety appropriately," Mr Gibson said.
CASA has given the Singapore-owned company five days to explain why it should be allowed to take to the skies again. After that, the regulator will decide whether to apply to the Federal Court for an extension of the flying ban.
In a double blow for Tiger, it yesterday emerged that financial troubles had dogged the discount carrier, with financial documents lodged with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission revealing the airline made a $6.7 million net loss in the financial year ending March 31, 2011.
Overall, the airline's Statement of Comprehensive Income shows total revenue was $220,207,000 while operating costs hit $227,022,000, with rocketing fuel prices hitting the bottom line hard.
Last financial year, Tiger reported a net profit of more than $2.8 million.
If the carrier is grounded for a week, it could incur a loss of more than $4.2 million in revenue including passenger seat revenue and extras including food and other service sales. A month on the ground could see a loss of more than $11 million.
Yesterday, the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association said Tiger's cheap airfares had created a "race to the bottom" and had cut fares to a point where competition was unsustainable.
The association's federal secretary, Steve Purvinas, said defects on planes should be routinely reported to engineers, but this was difficult at Tiger because they did not have in-house engineers.
The Australian and International Pilots Association said there had been concern for some time about the dropping safety standards in Australian aviation.
Yesterday Tiger Airways offered a statement on its website saying the airline "continues to co-operate fully with the industry regulator and safety underpins our operations at all times".
sThe company operates 60 domestic flights a day with its Australian fleet of 10 aircraft, flying to most capital cities and some regional centres.
The company said customers with bookings from now until 6am on Saturday July 9 would be offered a credit for deferred travel with it or a full refund.
