KUALA LUMPUR: Transport Minister Anthony Loke is expected to hold a press conference tomorrow over the downgrading of Malaysia’s air safety rating by United States-based civil aviation regulation body, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
According to an invitation letter issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) to the media, the press conference would be held at CAAM’s headquarters at Persiaran Perdana, Precint 4 in Putrajaya at 2pm.
FAA, the operation mode of the US Department of Transportation, had downgraded Malaysia’s air safety from Category 1 to Category 2, after it was found CAAM was unable to meet the safety standards of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
The new rating, given under the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) programme, means the air carriers from Malaysia are restricted to current levels of any existing service and cannot start new services to the US.
Following the downgrade, Malaysian air carriers would also be subject to additional inspections at airports in the US.
In Category 2, Malaysia joins Bangladesh, Ghana, Costa Rica, Thailand and Curacao.
On a related development, AirAsia Group Bhd was reported as saying its Japan-based unit operations would not be affected by the downgrade.
AirAsia’s long-haul unit AirAsia X Bhd has seven flights weekly from Kuala Lumpur to Honolulu, via Osaka, Japan.
Malaysia Airlines Bhd’s (MAB), meanwhile, said its passengers can continue to book and fly to the US on codeshare flights operated by American Airlines without any disruption.
The national carrier said its codeshare agreement was still in place with American Airlines but it only serves a unilateral agreement for the time being.
“Malaysia Airlines will still place its marketing code (MH) on applicable American Airlines sectors. But American Airlines has removed their marketing code (AA) from all applicable Malaysia Airlines sectors,” a MAB spokesperson told the New Straits Times.
It was, however, reported that American Airlines was no longer offering codeshares on Malaysia Airlines flights from Tuesday (Nov 12), following the FAA’s decision.
Alliance of Safety Community (Ikatan) secretary Matdiah Mohamad recently urged CAAM to take immediate action to avert the possibility of more restrictive conditions being imposed upon the country's aviation stakeholders.
The non-governmental organisation, he said, had learnt about an “unconfirmed cancelled code-sharing arrangement” by a US carrier with its Malaysian partner.”
Since then, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has demanded an explanation from FAA over the downgrade.
He had also said the government would study the reason behind the downgrade and its impact on the country’s aviation industry.