PUTRAJAYA, April 12 – The Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) yesterday provisionally suspended Rayani Air’s Air Operator Certificate (AOC) for three months effective Monday. DCA Director-General Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said the suspension notice had been sent to Malaysia’s first syariah-compliant airline yesterday. He said an inquiry on Rayani Air would be held on May 12 pertaining to the suspension order.
“The suspension will be lifted if they fulfill all of our requirements or we can permanently suspend (Rayani Air) or take a longer time. Three months is provisional. We have discussed with the airline and they know about it. It’s up to them to improve,” he told a press conference here yesterday.
Azharuddin said this was the first time an airline’s AOC was suspended under Regulation 24 of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1996. Azharuddin said DCA would ensure that all airlines which had been issued AOC fulfilled all the requirements under the Civil Aviation Regulations 1996.
“If they are unable to sustain their obligations to the regulations, then we will issue warnings as well as offer advice. If they are unable to fulfill the requirements, we can suspend (them). Meanwhile, DCA was just exercising its rights in accordance with the regulations,” he said when asked whether the suspension on Rayani Air would give a bad reputation to Malaysia’s aviation industry.
In the meantime, he also said that they cannot let the airline that has contravened their regulations to fly. He said they must do something about it. Therefore, Rayani Air had suspended its operations on Friday until the further notice, citing a strike by the pilots.
Rayani Air Sdn Bhd, a full service airline in Malaysia launched three months ago, is the first syariah-compliant airline in Malaysia and the fourth airline in the world after Royal Brunei Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Iran Air. Rayani Air, in its Facebook posting, said customers could contact its call centre at +603-27214925 for further enquiries.
