The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) announced Monday it was opening an investigation on low-cost Jetstar Pacific Airlines (JPA) following accusations by a former employee.
The CAAV on Oct 26 received a letter from Bernard John McCune, a JPA former chief engineer, saying that the airline did not strictly follow maintenance and flying safety regulations.
CAAV deputy chief, Lai Xuan Thanh, said the accusations were “really serious,” prompting an in-depth investigation into the budget air carrier from Oct 5.
Thanh said the investigation would last 10 days before the CAAV came to a conclusion.
The letter says JPA’s maintenance logs were not filed or recorded on file and the airline did not implement engine supervision on the plane’s wings, which led to the failure of two engines in the space of a week due to overheating.
Bernard John McCune said in the letter he once discovered a machinery failure in a transit check, but the plane was not fixed for a long period after he had initially reported it.
Bernard said he was fired for raising the issues and other safety concerns to the airline.
Meanwhile, JPA deputy CEO, Daniela Masilli, said the airline always follows the highest standards on safety as required by Vietnamese aviation authorities.
She said the chief engineer was fired because of work performance issues.
Last week, the Ministry of Transport told JPA to ditch the logo it shares with Australia’s Jetstar Airways or face the prospect of not being awarded a new license.
Jetstar Pacific has adopted the logo of the Jet and the orange star of Australia’s Jetstar Airways, although the Australian carrier is a minority owner in the airline. Foreign airlines aren’t permitted to run flights on Vietnam’s domestic routes.
The ministry said JPA must create a new logo before its license expired on October 15 next year.
Jetstar Pacific is the second largest airline in Vietnam, after Vietnam Airlines.
The country’s first low-cost airline was transformed from Pacific Airlines to Jetstar Pacific in May last year when Australia’s Qantas Airways Ltd. bought an 18 percent stake.
The carrier currently operates some 42 flights a day to domestic destinations, including Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, the central cities of Danang and Nha Trang and northern Hai Phong City.
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