Airlines left without flight certificates will sue ASAC

The Aeronautics Patronage Association blames the Civil Aviation Authority of Moldova (ASAC) of incompetence and warns it will sue ASAC if it does not annul the ordinance on withdrawing flight certificates from 8 cargo airlines, issued on June 22, 2007. Representatives from a number of airlines in Moldova told Monday, June 25, a press conference that they do not know the real reasons behind the ASAC’s decision on withdrawing the flight certificates. According to the representatives, the Moldovan airlines have many important contracts with international organisations, including the U.S. Department of Defense and UN, and by not honouring their contractual obligations they risk penalties of thousands of dollars. In case of a trial they are sure they will win, ASAC risks paying high damages to the airlines as a result of stopping the flights that are really expensive. The head of the company “Jet Stream”, Boris Salov, stated that the ASAC has big administrative problems generated by the lack of experts in the institution. According to Salov, not only the Moldovan airlines that will be put in the blacklist of the international partners will suffer the consequences, but Moldova’s image and investment attractiveness will be spoiled too. At present, almost all the 100 planes of the Moldova airlines are blocked in the destination countries and cannot return. The airlines say that in case of maintaining the ASAC ordinance, about 3 or 4 thousand employees will be left without earnings. According to the ASAC’s ordinance, “the civil Moldovan aviation has seen a series of irregularities as a result of non-observance of the regulations, on the one hand, and of the lack of efficient control and of the exaggerated extension of the operation area, on the other hand. A lot of accidents have occurred, which resulted in plane destructions, casualties, reputation damages to the civil aviation", the document issued by ASAC reads. Among the companies that had their certificates withdrawn are the International Airport Marculesti, “Jet Line International”, “Jet Stream”, “Tiramavia”, “Valan International Cargo Charter”, “Grixona” and others. Only three airlines, including “Air Moldova”, that transport exclusively passengers still have their certificates.