Licence will be cancelled if DCA not satisfied with Rayani Air's explanation - Liow

The air service licence and air operator certificate of Malaysia's first Syariah-compliant airline, Rayani Air, will be cancelled if the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) is not satisfied with the explanation and information on the company's operations, said Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

He said the action would take into consideration various factors including the capability of the company to continue operations.

"We are still giving Rayani Air an opportunity to explain to the DCA on the issues that cropped up during its entire three-month operation before taking any further action.

"Currently we are still holding hearings with Rayani Air and so far we have not obtained further information on any action against the company," he told reporters after launching of MCA's Karnival Teguh Bersama' (Stronger Together Carnival) at Machap Baru here Saturday.

He was asked to comment on the temporary suspension of air operator certificate (AOC) of Rayani Air for three months effective April 11.

The DCA issued the temporary suspension after the company which began operations in December announced suspending its flight operations without the approval of DCA on April 8.

On the failure of Rayani Air to settle the salary arrears of employees, Liow said the complaint could be channeled to the Industrial Relations Department to protect the rights of workers.

He said employees of the company were entitled to take legal action if a settlement could not be reach with the employer to settle their salary arrears.

In other developments, Liow said Malaysia, Australia and China were committed to continue the search for MH370 until the entire 120,000 sq kilometre area in the Indian Ocean had been covered.

"I have directed the technical committee to continue holding meetings with the three countries to expedite the search for MH370 and the operation has also received the support and assistance of Mozambique and South Africa," he said.

Meanwhile, on the carnival, Liow said the programme was drawn up to reach out to the people who are facing rising cost of living.

He said the programme was to provide a platform to channel information to the grassroots on all facilities provided by the government in all fields such as economy, education and social.

"Many people, especially the Chinese are not aware MCA had implemented various programmes in education such as UTAR (Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman), Institut VTAR dan CECE (Childhood Education Studies and Community Education)," he said.