Bolivian authorities filed a criminal complaint against an airport official here for allowing a charter plane to depart for Colombia even though its flight plan was in violation of international aviation safety standards. The LaMia airline plane, which was carrying a Brazilian soccer team, ran out of fuel hours later and crashed at about 10 p.m. near Medellín on Nov. 28, killing 71 people aboard. Bolivia’s airport authority, Aasana, filed the complaint against Celia Castedo, an Aasana employee who reviewed the LaMia flight plan. That plan, as well as a written transcript that Ms. Castedo prepared after the crash recalling her conversation with the plane’s onboard dispatcher, Alex Quispe, appear to indicate that the flight’s pilot and co-owner, Miguel Quiroga, knowingly put the lives of those aboard at risk by flying directly to Medellín without stopping to refuel. Investigators say it appears the flight departed from the Viru Viru International Airport without the necessary amount of fuel, violating international regulations. The regulations, based on standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization, require commercial flights to have sufficient fuel for reaching their destination as well an additional amount for reaching an alternative airport and for a variety of other contingencies. According to a transcript of events, Castedo said she initially objected to the LaMia flight plan. She allegedly urged Quispe to change it. The plane’s maximum flight range was about 41/2 hours—just barely enough to reach Medellín, the document said. “That’s not OK. Go back and check. Change your flight plan,” Castedo told Quispe, according to her written version of events. But Quispe, who died in the crash, allegedly brushed off her concerns. Castedo said in the transcript that “too often flight dispatchers do not take our observations seriously.” Ultimately, though, she allowed the plane to depart. Castedo, who couldn’t be reached for comment, faces up to four years in jail, accused of “failing to carry out her duties as a public official.”<br/>
unaligned
The airline involved in last week's crash in the Andes left a trail of unpaid bills that forced Bolivia's air force to seize two planes and briefly jail one of the company's owners, Bolivian Defense Minister Reymi Ferreira said Monday. The revelation added to a string of human errors and unsettling details about the Bolivian-based LaMia charter company's checkered past that experts say should have served as warnings to aviation authorities. A LaMia jet carrying 77 people, including a Brazilian soccer team heading to a South American championship final, slammed into a Colombian mountainside just minutes after the pilot reported running out of fuel. Investigators are centering their probe on why the short-range jet was allowed to attempt a direct flight with barely enough fuel on board to cover the distance between Santa Cruz, Bolivia, and Medellin, Colombia. Ferreira said that in 2014, LaMia brought its three airplanes — all of them short-haul jets made by British Aerospace — to Bolivia's air force for repair. He didn't say what maintenance work was performed but accused the airline of paying for only half the work and abandoning two of the planes. After months of the company refusing to pay hangar fees, the government took legal action and seized the planes, Ferreira said. He added that one of LaMia's owners, pilot Miguel Quiroga, who died in the crash, was detained for a few days five months ago in the case. <br/>
Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA jumped the most since April 2015 after winning US regulatory approval for an expansion of low-cost flights across the Atlantic that’s opposed by American carriers, unions and politicians alike. Shares of Norwegian Air rose as much as 14% on their first day of trading since the Department of Transportation concluded Friday that the company’s Ireland-based Norwegian Air International arm is fit to serve US destinations. The decision opens the door to “more flights and more jobs on both sides of the Atlantic,” Norwegian Air spokesman Anders Lindstrom said. Critics of the plan say the Irish unit will amount to a “flag of convenience” that permits the group to unfairly slash costs by tapping Irish labor laws to outsource employment contracts beyond Europe. Norwegian’s CEO Bjorn Kjos has indicated that it will add routes such as Cork to the U.S. using its Irish air operator certificate, though opponents say the Fornebu, Norway-based company could perform the same flights under existing accords. Lowering costs is a key consideration for the carrier as it seek to survive in a trans-Atlantic market where no-frills predecessors such as Laker Airways failed. The DoT decision undermines legal protections for airline workers, according to the Association of Flight Attendants, the largest US cabin crew union, which called on President Barack Obama to use his executive powers to reverse the ruling. The Air Line Pilots Association said separately that the approval was “an affront to fair competition” that would cause US job losses.<br/>
EasyJet relaxed performance targets for CEO Carolyn McCall as the discount carrier seeks to bolster pay and retain top managers amid a downturn in the European aviation market. EasyJet must achieve a return on capital spending of 13% for the next three fiscal years in order to trigger full long-term incentive payments, down from a previous goal of 20%, according to the company’s annual report released Monday. The weighting of various measures of success in determining incentive and bonus payments will also be reviewed, Europe’s second-biggest low-cost airline said. McCall’s total remuneration shrank to GBP1.5m in the year ended Sept. 30 from GBP6.2m in fiscal 2015. Incentive payments fell almost 90% and the annual bonus dropped 80%, with a 10,000-pound raise in her base salary. EasyJet’s remuneration committee is modifying its pay goals as aviation bears the brunt of economic and political uncertainty. Britain’s vote to exit the European Union has put earnings under pressure, with fares already hurt by sluggish growth and a spate of terrorist attacks.<br/>
Frontier Airlines says one of its planes flying from Chicago to Florida was diverted to Indianapolis after an issue was reported with its fuel system. No injuries were reported. Frontier spokesman Jim Faulkner says flight 1334 left Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Sunday for Palm Beach with 205 passengers and seven crew members aboard and landed late Sunday in Indianapolis out of "an abundance of caution." Faulkner says the pilot for the Denver-based airline made the decision to divert the plane. WISH-TV reported that passengers were put on another plane to get to their destination. According to the airport tracking website FlightAware, they arrived in Palm Beach on Monday morning.<br/>
A Southwest flight headed from Philadelphia to Orlando diverted to South Carolina after a baby was born mid-flight. Southwest Flight 556 left Philadelphia just before 3 p.m. ET Sunday. But, after a woman went into labor, the plane diverted to Charleston, where it landed at 4:30 p.m. ET, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware. “Medical personnel onboard assisted with the delivery,” Southwest spokeswoman Melissa Ford said. “Emergency medical technicians met the flight upon landing and transported the parents and baby to an area hospital.” The flight’s remaining 132 passengers stayed on board and Flight 556 took off from Charleston about 70 minutes after landing. Flight 556 made it to Orlando at 6:34 p.m. ET – about an hour behind schedule.<br/>