THE Aviation authority should crack the whip on those operating charter flights illegally at the Subang aviation cluster.
“If those aircraft operating the ‘grey charters’ from Subang are foreign registered and operating without permit, then action must be taken by the aviation authority.
“They cannot simply operate. Furthermore, a flight plan has to be filed before a flight is commenced.
“The same rule applies to private jets. Without proper flight plans, they cannot simply take off,” former Malaysia Airline Systems (MAS) head of flight safety Capt Kamil Abu Bakar told FocusM.
He was responding to a report by The Malaysian Reserve (TMR) two days ago, highlighting the Subang aviation cluster is becoming a hub for illegal charter flights operating below the authorities’ radar, posing serious safety risks to passengers, while affecting businesses of licensed operators.
A survey by the Asian Business Aviation Association (AsBAA) showed that Malaysia has the second-highest number of private jet flights operating without a valid air operator certificate (AOC) in Asia, after China.
“Firstly, insurance does not cover for any accident that may happen with the flights. These illegal operations threaten the country’s aviation safety reputation.
“Secondly, we have operators who spend millions applying for AOC or foreign AOC (FAOC) and adhere to the regulations, but the illegal jet charter operators do not and get to do the businesses,” AsBAA Malaysia chapter head Aida Ismail was reported telling TMR.
Touching on the matter, Kamil said that all Malaysian registered aircraft must comply with the Malaysian Civil Aviation Regulation 2006, which regulates all types of operations, regardless they are scheduled airlines, charters, private jets or general aviation.
He added that all aviation regulations are based on the standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which includes aspects such as aircraft operations, safety, maintenance and others.
“For Malaysian operators, they need the AOC licence, issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM).
“Anybody can apply for it but it is believed to be an expensive affair, running up to millions,” said Kamil.
However, he casts doubt on claims that some of the illegal flights has no insurance coverage.
Elaborating, Kamil said flight operators are required to have insurance coverage before even renewing their AOC.
“Just like motor vehicles, without insurance, the road tax cannot be renewed. Therefore, it is not likely, that the jet aircraft are not insured,” he opined. – Dec 25, 2020.
