Holiday hell as Tiger fights for its life
Virgin Australia, Qantas and Jetset are attempting to save the holidays of thousands of Australian families after the grounding of budget operator Tiger Airways by safety authorities until at least July 9.
Stranded Tiger passengers are being offered reduced price domestic flights by Virgin Australia and Qantas group airlines.
Extra capacity is being called up to help Tiger passengers who face the prospect of being unable to fly as scheduled.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) said its decision to ground the airline at the start of the school holidays was unavoidable and a result of its risk analysis and the ongoing problems at the airline.
“It was a risk assessment exercise, which is what we’re paid to do, and when the risk gets unacceptably high you have to take action, which is what we did,” CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said.
All Tiger’s 10 Airbus A320 jets have been grounded until Saturday – the first time CASA has banned a whole fleet from flying.
The aviation regulator only has the power to ground aircraft for five working days without permission from the Federal Court, but industry analysts believe it will seek the court’s approval to extend the ban this week.
The ban leaves an estimated 35,000 passengers stranded in the lead up to school holidays.
It also places the future of Singapore Airlines-backed Tiger Airways in jeopardy. The already shaky reputation of the airline has been further undermined to such an extent that it will struggle to regain the confidence of passengers if it gets back in the air.
The president and CEO of Tiger Airways, Tony Davis told ABC News that CASA was wrong and the group’s Australian subsidiary was safe.
He rejected CASA’s claim that Tiger posed an immediate risk to public safety.
CASA on Friday night grounded Tiger Airways until July 9 because the airline was viewed as a serious and immediate risk to safety.
Tiger Airways international flights between Australia and Singapore are not affected because they are operated by a separate business.
Ian Jarrett
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