Leisure airline Magnum Air (Skyjet), Inc. has voluntarily suspended its operations starting June 4 to allow the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) to conduct safety inspections.
In a letter to CAAP dated June 3, Skyjet president Dino Chua said the airline is also withdrawing its case against CAAP filed at the Regional Trial Court of Pasay City.
The case came with a P20-million damage claim for losses incurred when CAAP on May 18 indefinitely suspended operations of Skyjet — along with another airline, South East Airlines International (SEAIR International) – for safety shortcomings under Philippine Civil Aviation Regulations. The authority cited several safety observations made against the two airlines by a European Union assessment team that visited the country from April 16 to 24, 2015.
But Skyjet resumed operations on May 22 after Judge Pedro Gutierrez of Pasay RTC Branch 119 issued a 20-day temporary restraining order on CAAP’s suspension order. The RTC order would have expired middle of June.
In his letter, Chua informed CAAP that Skyjet has “already undertaken and continue to take comprehensive enhanced corrective actions relative to the flight data monitoring, quality assurance, air worthiness, and maintenance control,” which were part of the observations in the EU assessment report.
Among Skyjet’s corrective plans are ensuring that the flight data monitoring system is in place; an external audit of the airworthiness of Skyjet will be conducted by a reputable auditing firm; the maintenance program is complied with; the part number and serial number verification of the parts installed on the aircraft are made; all airworthiness directives are complied with; all historical data of the aircraft are in the custody of Skyjet; and the maintenance control manual is followed.
He also asked for the immediate lifting of the suspension order “as soon as the compliance and corrective actions are acceptable.”
Image from Skyjet Facebook account
