Zest Air suspension lifted, flights to resume 'ASAP'

MANILA, Philippines - The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) on Tuesday lifted its suspension order on low budget carrier Zest Air.

"We are pleased to announce that the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has already lifted its suspension order on Zest Airways Inc., effective today, 20 August 2013," the company said in a statement posted on its Facebook page.

Zest Air also assured its passengers that its flights to Manila, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Kalibo, Iloilo, Puerto Princesa, Tacloban, Tagbilaran, Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Shanghai and Incheon will resume "as soon as possible."

"Thank you for all your kind understanding and support," the company said.

Related story: Passengers of grounded Zest Air stranded at NAIA

CAAP deputy director John Andrews said the suspension order was lifted after the airline addressed suspected safety violations and was granted its Airline Operator's Certificate required to resume operations.

The CAAP said it has inspected three of the budget airline's three planes, which have been cleared for flight under aviation sfety standards and will continue to inspect the rest of the fleet.

Zest Air was grounded Saturday for allegedly violating safety procedures and guidelines including missing fuel coupling cap and refueling while passengers were onboard aircraft.

"In the course of this monitoring, this agency is alarmed of Zest Air’s series of serious deviations and infractions of the rules and standards," Andrews said as he announces the airline's suspension on Saturday.

The suspension left hundrds of passengers stranded. Some of the passengers were given the option to transfer their booking to other airlines.

The company reportedly lost P70 million a day due to its fleet's grounding.