Ticket sales for Yemenia in the UAE have not been affected by questions raised about the airline’s safety record in the wake of Tuesday’s plane crash that left 152 feared dead, airline officials said on Thursday.
The airline’s Airbus A310 plunged into the Indian Ocean as it tried to land in the Comoros, scattering bodies and wreckage in all directions. A 12 year-old girl is so far the only survivor.
The crash sparked concern and anger over Yemenia’s safety record, with France revealing the doomed 19-year-old jet was banned from French airspace because of "irregularities" and passengers describing the company's planes as "flying coffins".
“Our bookings are normal,” said a manager said at Al Rais travel agency in Dubai, which acts as the general sales agent (GSA) for Yemenia.
A manager at the airline’s Dubai office also insisted that there was no decline in passenger numbers or cargo volumes on UAE flights as a result of the accident.
The airline operates 14 flights a week out of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, providing direct flights to the Yemeni capital Sana as well as to Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur.
The European Commission invited the airline to a Thursday meeting of the EU's Air Safety Committee to update it on its safety issues after it was revealed problems had been found in the crashed aircraft in 2007.
Yemenia Chairman Abdulkalek Saleh al-Kadi said the airline could not attend at such short notice, but has rigorously defended its safety record and maintenance procedures.
The Yemenia manager said passenger safety is a “top priority” and the crash does not mean people will stop flying with the airline.
“People are still using Air France,” she said, referring to the Air France crash over the Atlantic Ocean on June 1 in which 228 people died. The aircraft was also an Airbus.
It is not known if the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), which regulates the country’s aviation sector, is reviewed Yemenia’s safety records following the crash.
The GCAA did not respond to questions sent by Maktoob Business.