Indochina Airlines license not yet revoked

Indochina Airlines has not yet lost its license as reported by local media because the Ministry of Transport has issued no decision on the matter even though this debt-laden airline has been unable to resume services since its suspension two years ago.

A deputy director general of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) told the Daily about this last Saturday after news broke on online newspapers saying that the ministry had withdrawn the license of this airline, whose general director is Ha Hung Dung.

In early November, CAAV said that the ministry was considering repealing the license of Indochina Airlines this year as the first private airline in Vietnam had not met conditions for VND200 billion (around US$9.5 million) as chartered capital for an operator of domestic flights, debt payment for partners, and an air operator certificate (AOC).

Earlier this year, the HCMC People’s Court pronounced that Indochina Airlines would have to pay over US$1.3 million to Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) as the bank guaranteed a credit which the carrier took from a foreign bank. This airline still owes tens of billions of dong to services partners at airports in Vietnam, including Vietnam Air Petrol Co. (Vinapco).

According to civil aviation regulations, Indochina Airlines should have had its license revoked for it has suspended services for 12 consecutive months and has not obtained any AOC after two years of being licensed. Earlier this year, Indochina Airlines wrote to the Prime Minister, the transport ministry and CAAV seeking to keep its license throughout 2011 to have time to restructure its operations.

Indochina Airlines was licensed by the transport ministry in mid-2008 and commenced its commercial flights with two leased Boeing 737-800 aircraft on November 25 in the same year. However, the carrier has been grounded since November 2009 due to financial constraints.

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