Budget airline Flyglobespan faces prosecution for alleged breach of safety rules following charges brought by the Civil Aviation Authority.
The CAA has summonsed Flyglobespan on two counts, charging that it flew an aircraft across the Atlantic when the engine pressure gauges were unserviceable and that it failed to file a safety report with the CAA.
A CAA spokesman declined to comment on a report that it is investigating other alleged breaches.
The charges follow the CAA’s suspension last October of Flyglobespan’s licence to fly some transatlantic routes. It was the first time in 15 years a UK airline had lost the licence, known as an ETOPS, which allows carriers to operate two-engined aircraft over large distances of water. Flyglobespan was forced to operate some routes over land, extending the time in the air.
The carrier did not seek to renew its licence in January, but the CAA reinstated an ETOPS for some of Flyglobespan’s long-haul fleet – its three Boeing 767s – this month. A single Boeing 757 remains without an ETOPS licence.
Edinburgh-based Flyglobespan flies transatlantic from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Manchester, Belfast and Bristol primarily to Canada but also to Orlando. An airline spokesman was unavailable to comment on the charges.