Air Safaris’ Gippsland GA8 Airvan has returned to normal operations after being deemed safe by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
On July 20, CAA director Graeme Harris suspended all Gippsland GA8 Airvan flights in New Zealand due to “sufficient concerns about the safety of these aircraft.”
The decision follows a crash involving a GA8 Airvan that killed nine people on July 14 after it took off from Umea in northern Sweden.
However, Graeme Harris, director of civil aviation at CAA, said they have received further information that there was no evidence of potentially unsafe conditions.
“As a consequence the GA8 aircraft type would now be safely allowed to return to normal operations,” Harris told Stuff.co.nz.
The CAA’s decision to ground Gippsland Ga8 Airvan flights was reminiscent of Boeing 737 Max flight suspensions after a crash in Addis Ababa that killed all 157 passengers – making it the second deadly crash involving Boeing’s 737 Max model.
For similar situations, insurers had warned travellers that flight cancellations caused by a government-imposed grounding are not normally covered by travel insurance policies.
“Issues brought about by such things as visa limitations, restrictions on travel over borders and other legislatively controlled circumstances (such as the current restrictions on the Boeing) are normally outside the scope of leisure travel insurance policies,” travel insurance provider Cover-More told NZ Herald.
The CAA will continue to monitor the investigation into the GA8 Airvan accident and will take appropriate action if any related safety issues come up.
