Tiger Airways under investigation by Australia's Civil Aviation Authority (CASA)

Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority is investigating Tiger Airways Australia over “a variety of issues,” according to insiders at the safety regulator. Details of CASA’s investigation emerged Thursday as the airline, owing to an unrelated problem, was forced to cancel several flights, disrupting Easter travel plans for hundreds of passengers. Perth services continue as scheduled.


CASA issued a "show cause" notice to Tiger over a series of concerns related to safety and maintenance, according to insiders who noted the concerns were more related to paperwork and not considered serious.


CASA issues “show cause” notices “where there is not a serious and imminent risk to safety,” according to the regulator, which pointed out the notices “set out the facts and circumstances of the matter ... and provides the operator with an opportunity to explain their own view of those facts and circumstances."


A Tiger spokesperson said the airline "has responded promptly and in full to CASA's inquiry ... Safety underpins Tiger's operations at all times and Tiger continues to operate normally with CASA's approval," the spokesperson said. Tiger is partly owned by Singapore Airlines.


The last time CASA issued a "show cause" notice to a major airline was to Ansett in 2001 over safety breaches with its Boeing 767s.

(Geoffrey Thomas - ATWOnline News)