Here's a belated post from yesterday's Cyprus Mail. The Cyprus Mail is staying very close to the story of the Helios attempt to rebrand. In fact, on Monday, I saw a photo of the new "a-jet" livery as it departed Luton on 18 March. I think it's very interesting that a company would go to the expense of changing its livery, without having first secured an operating license. Guess they thought that getting the license was gonna be easy!
Is there some invisible hand that is lifting ajet into the skies? By Elias Hazou
CONFUSION still reigned yesterday as to how ajet, the heir apparent to beleaguered Helios Airways, was cleared for a test flight last week that was cancelled on the eleventh hour.
Libra Holdings Group (LHG) which is one of the biggest UK-based tour operators and which owns Helios, had announced on March 13 that it was ready to create a new charter airline under the name of ajet, which will use the aircraft and resources of Helios.
Still reeling after last August’s tragic crash, Helios has been unable to fully recover and has caused multi-million in losses to LHG, which is listed on the Cyprus Stock Exchange.
The probe on the airline disaster is due sometime in April.
Last week news broke that ajet had secured permission to carry out a “proving flight,” a necessary step to establishing the airworthiness of an airline. Immediately that turned attention to the Civil Aviation Authority, as its consent was necessary for the test flight.
Assuming the test flight had gone ahead, ajet would have received an AOC (Air Operator’s License). But to commence actual operations, it would then also need a commercial license.
The above explanation was made yesterday by the Transport Ministry’s permanent secretary Makis Constantinides, who is leading a government inquiry into the contentious test flight.
“At first sight, it seems the airline and Civil Aviation were incommunicado,” Constantinides told state radio.
The flight had been scheduled for Thursday, but just two days earlier ajet received word from civil aviation that their request was denied. According to ajet, the Civil Aviation did not explain why, with one official telling the company the flight was cancelled “for other reasons he could not disclose.”
That development immediately followed the media coverage of ajet’s intended launch, raising suspicion that authorities – who up until then had been in cahoots with the airline – were now covering their tracks because of the public backlash.
The word on the street is that “orders from above” (the Transport Ministry) led to the flight being scrapped.
Documents obtained by Phileleftheros show that civil aviation approved the test flight as far back as March 7. According to the paper’s sources, on March 9 the department sent a letter to the Attorney-general’s office for clarifications.
Yesterday Attorney-general Petros Clerides said his office received the letter last Friday (March 9), that is, after the scheduled date of the test flight.
Reports say that Transport Minister Harris Thrasou is furious with civil aviation’s delay in asking for Clerides’ opinion.
The big question was whether corners were cut – and by whom. According to ajet’s sales manager Nicos Anastassiades, the company did everything by the book and received no favours from civil aviation.
“Contrary to media speculation, our application for an AOC was not processed in record time,” Anastassiades insisted yesterday.
“We have not yet applied for a change of name. We have only applied for the creation of a new company. ajet does not exist as a commercial airline.”
Meanwhile on Sunday a Helios Airways plane flying under the livery of ajet made the Larnaca-Luton roundtrip. Although it is not uncommon for a plane to operate under the code of another airline, reports said that the printed material inside the aircraft (such as emergency manuals) also sported the ajet logo and colours.
DISY deputy Giorgos Georgiou yesterday urged the government to come clean and explain to the public whether Helios was being allowed to evolve into another airline while the victims’ relatives were still in mourning.
“Mr Thrasou’s handling of the matter is disappointing,” remarked Georgiou.
“On the one hand we have assurances that ajet has not received permission to fly, and on the other hand we see them touching down and taking off from airports. What’s going on?”
“Is there some invisible hand that is lifting ajet into the skies?” mused Georgiou.
In the meantime angered relatives and friends of the victims want the apparent evolution of Helios Airways into another airline to be stopped in its tracks.
Yesterday a delegation of the relatives met with Attorney-general Petros Clerides to voice their concerns that such a development might complicate or even derail legal proceedings they plan to take against the airline.
Spokesman for the relatives Nicolas Yiasoumis said after the meeting they were “satisfied” with the Attorney-general’s stance on the matter.
Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2005