Tiger Airways Australia resumed flying today, operating three return flights between Melbourne and Sydney.
Flight TT558 was Tiger’s first since its July 1 grounding by CASA, departing Melbourne for Sydney around midday with a host of invited dignitaries and Tiger CEO Tony Davis onboard.
“We have probably gone through the most vigorous safety analysis of any airline in Australia, so CASA are happy, we are happy,” Davis told ABC News.
“We have a good team in Tiger and we believe now that we can not only meet CASA’s expectations but we can exceed them,” he added.
Tiger is only permitted to fly 18 sectors per day during August, one of a series of strict conditions imposed by CASA after the airline was handed back its AOC on August 10. Tiger has also drastically cut back the number of Australian destinations on its domestic schedule, which according to its website now includes just Adelaide, Melbourne (Tullamarine), Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and the Gold Coast. The resumption of further flights beyond Melbourne-Sydney is expected to be announced by the airline shortly.