Protecting AirAsia, AAX may have caused Civil Aviation Authority Malaysia the loss of its credibility, and the US FAA downgrade: Letting AA, AAX fail is the first step in restructuring Malaysia's airline industry

by Ganesh Sahathevan

The recent expose by AirAsia India pilot Captain Gaurav Taneja is the latest commentary about safety issues at AirAsia, AirAsiaX. These are often, if not always, from sources outside Malaysia. In Malaysia on the other hand, even when reported locally,  these matters are dismissed as irrelevant by the regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority Of Malaysia (CAAM). 

As a matter of fact, local AirAsia engineering officers raised safety concerns publicly in 2018, clearly expressing their frustration at AirAsia and CAAM, but this too did not seem to bother CAAM, or the Ministry Of Transport.As reported by The Sun in 2018:

The open letter penned by some AirAsiaX staff said there was a serious breach of aviation regulations by AAX top management.

They said their intention was to avoid a mishap as the the latest aviation disaster involving Lion Air JT610.

They had written the open letter to Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, Fernandez, Datuk Kamarudin Meranun and The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) urging them to take action.

They alleged there were two serious misconducts committed by a department head which warranted immediate corrective action since it involves the safety of passengers.

"These misconducts happened quite some time but we are not very sure why there is no investigation being done. 

They urged CAAM to look into this case as they were afraid it may become a norm for engineers to violate procedures and safety as long as it "helps" the boss.

Consequently, CAAM has only itself to blame for the US FAA's decision to downgrade Malaysia from a Category 1 to Category 2 country.

CAAM doing its job with regards AA and AAX is likely to cause their closure, but that should not matter. It would the first step on the long and hard road that must be taken to restructure Malaysia's aviation industry.

TO BE READ WITH 

Why not let AirAsia & AAX fail? UK Airbus admissions mean a MAS-AirAsia merger will be loaded with cyanide; better to let AA & AAX go into liquidation, and acquire their assets (but not management)