KUALA LUMPUR: MYAirline Sdn Bhd's 10th and final aircraft has been deregistered, leaving the cash-crunch budget carrier fleet-less.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) confirmed to Business Times that MYAirline currently does not have any registered aircraft in its fleet.
The aviation regulator said the budget carrier would need to secure at least two aircraft to re-apply for the air operator certificate (AOC) licence.
One of the requirements for AOC issuance and renewal based on CAAM's Civil Aviation Directives (CAD) - 6004 is that an airline that wants to operate scheduled flights must have a minimum fleet of two aircraft.
On Jan 26, CAAM told Business Times that it had extended the suspension of MYAirline's AOC for another three months until April 14.
On Feb 2 and Feb 4, a lone Airbus A320 plane with MYAirline's red and grey livery was spotted parking at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport's Terminal 2.
It is believed that it is the final aircraft which had been recently deregistered. The aircraft registration on the side of the plane could not be seen due to the distance.
However, hope is not lost yet for MYAirline, which had abruptly suspended its operations on Oct 12, 2023, as the new Middle East investors are believed to still be keen to invest in the airline.
Recently the airline had submitted an application of a new air service licence (ASL) to the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom).
The aviation regulator - tasked to oversee the commercial and financial aspects of an airline - previously confirmed to Business Times that it had received the new ASL application from MYAirline.
The carrier would need to secure a conditional ASL from Mavcom first before re-applying for AOC from CAAM and back to Mavcom for a full ASL prior to resuming its flight operations.
On Jan 12, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said a few conditions must be imposed before MYAirline could be back in business.
These include ensuring that all refunds are paid to affected passengers and payments to its staff are made as well.
"Without these two (conditions) no way, we can't compromise on this and thirdly in terms of their safety and such they must follow normal procedure," Loke was quoted by local media.
According to a Mavcom press release dated Nov 1, 2023, over 117,000 estimated passengers were affected by MYAirline's suspension of operations with a total value of more than RM22 million in forward sales for scheduled flights from Oct 12, 2023 until March 31, 2024.
MYAirline told Business Times on Jan 26 and earlier in January that it could not comment on the new investor, fleet and future plans due to the non-disclosure agreements signed.