Ravi Alagendrran CEO of Rayani Air could not attend inquiry due to ill health.
The Indian-origin CEO of Malaysia's Rayani Air, which bills itself as the world's first Shariah-compliant airline today failed to attend a inquiry citing ill health, a month after its operations was suspended for failing to adhere to aviation rules.
Chief Executive officer Ravi Alagendrran, who is under pressure after the suspension of the airline's operations, said he had fainted because of high blood pressure.
The airline is owned by Mr Alagendrran and his wife Karthiyani Govindan. They used parts of their first names for the airline's name.
However, his wife Karthiyani attended the inquiry into the airline's unilateral decision to temporarily halt operations without approval of aviation authorities.
Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai had warned that the company risks losing its AOC if DCA is not satisfied with its explanation.
He also had said that DCA will conduct an administration and safety audit to determine if Rayani Air is fit for the AOC after serving provisional suspension.
On April 11, Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) suspended Air Operators Certificate (AOC) of the airline owned by an ethnic Indian Hindu couple, for three months after the airline temporarily halted operations following a strike by pilots a couple of days earlier.
Rayani Air, which was launched in December last year, is the first local airline company to have its operations suspended for allegedly breaching the Civil Aviation Regulations 1966.