WILLEMSTAD – Recently InselAir has been confronted with an unusual sequence of technical engine issues which had an impact on a part of the flight operations. 

The airline fully complies with both regular and incidental maintenance work in accordance with the high safety requirements of the sector. Engine maintenance is not performed by InselAir itself, but by an FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) approved supplier.

Audit
One of the observations was that the occurred events of the past week were related to the gearboxes of the engines. Repairs on these units are completely outsourced to InselAir’s FAA-approved repair shops, which are authorized to work on these gearboxes. This is very common in the airline industry because of the specialized nature of some of the work. It is simply not allowed for InselAir’s maintenance team to conduct maintenance work on the gearboxes. InselAir has, in all cases, followed and executed all required processes and procedures that are under InselAir’s responsibility. However, InselAir does also rely, to a certain but very important extent, on its suppliers. Also CCAA (Curacao Civil Aviation Authority) and FAA perform audits at suppliers. InselAir is taking steps in terms of extra checks and increased monitoring of the gearboxes.

Safety
“Our industry is one of the safest industries in the world and being an IOSA certified airline means that we comply with the highest safety standards in the industry. If these types of events, which all airlines encounter throughout the year, happen in a very short period of time, it is very understandable that this raises concerns amongst our passengers. I can tell you that neither our passengers, nor our crew have ever been in danger” according to Edward Heerenveen, Chief General and International Affairs of InselAir. “We regret to have disappointed a part of our passengers that we have transported last week’, says Heerenveen. Despite the delays during this period InselAir has transported all passengers to their respective destinations.

Flight information
Through InselAir’s website InselAir’s clients were continuously informed about the (real time) status of their flight(s). InselAir website is easily accessible from any device including mobile and tablets. Currently, the technical issues are resolved and InselAir is flying its normal schedule again.

Bron: CuracaoChronicle