Today, the Civil Aviation Authority (AAC) has cancelled the Air Operation Certificate (AOC) of the Air Moldova company, at a proposal by the commission for certification.
The aforementioned commission found out that, so far, the Air Moldova air operator, which has been in a process of accelerated reorganization for more than half a year,
‘’did not present any proof which confirms the removal of the non-conformities in the term established, does not hold any operational airship and does not meet the minimal criteria for holding AOC – reasons stayed at the basis of the cancellation of the air operator certificate.’’
AAC has earlier temporarily suspended the certificate of air operator for a period of six months, providing a maximal term envisaged by the Air Code, for the identification of an airship which might be used in the air transport and included in AOC.
‘’Upon the expiration of the six-month period, because of the lack of an at least one airship which would hold a valid certificate of navigability, the AOC’s cancellation was inevitable,’’ AAC said.
In May 2023, Air Moldova announced the suspension of operations and canceled the sale of tickets for future flights. The company explained that it filed an application with the court asking for an accelerated restructuring, which, according to Air Moldova, will help it avoid bankruptcy. The airline said that it has an investor ready to invest $50 million, which will solve the financial problems of Air Moldova and replenish its fleet.
The problems in the airline became known in March, when Air Moldova canceled dozens of flights for the first time. Then the company explained this by the fact that it could not use three of its four aircraft, so one went for scheduled maintenance, and the other two were recalled by the lessor. The company claimed that the lessor recalled the aircraft for flight safety reasons after Wizz Air left the Moldovan market.
Earlier , the company urgently rented three aircraft from SkyUp Airlines, ETF Airways and ALK Airlines. Nevertheless, in April, the company continued to cancel flights en masse, and a petition appeared on the Internet, in which Air Moldova employees asked Maia Sandu to intervene in the situation and prevent the bankruptcy of the airline.
Air Moldova employees also claimed that they had not received their salaries for several months.
The organization clarified that revocation of the certificate means that Air Moldova no longer has the status of an air operator and the airline is deprived of the right to operate commercial flights.
Now, Air Moldova will receive an official notification of the revocation of the air operator certificate. Later, if the company wants to resume flights, it can initiate a new certification process to obtain an air operator certificate, in accordance with national regulations, the State Administration said.
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