Private carrier Air Mekong faces license revocation Passengers board an Air Mekong aircraft at Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City Tuoi Tre Private carrier Air Mekong will lose its license if it fails to present new operation plans by the end of this month, one year after it suspended flights for restructuring. If Air Mekong does not submit any plans to resume its services, the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) will report to the Ministry of Transport to cancel its license, warned CAAV deputy chief Vo Huy Cuong in a directive sent to the carrier on Wednesday. Under current laws, airlines that stop operating for 12 months in a row will have their air transport license invalidated. Air Mekong was Vietnam’s second privately owned carrier, besides Indochina Airlines, when it began operations in October 2010, offering services on eight domestic air routes. In 2011, VietJet Air became the country’s third private airline. On March 1, 2013, debt-ridden Air Mekong officially announced its suspension for restructuring. Shortly before the suspension, Air Mekong engaged in a debt dispute with Vietnam Air Petrol Co Ltd (Vinapco) as the carrier could not afford its petroleum payment. The airliner’s daily operational costs were as high as VND4 billion (US$189,000), according to a source familiar with the matter. Air Mekong consumed a combined VND1 trillion in investments from its funder, BIM Group, during its first two years of operation, even though it chose to exploit less competitive air routes such as Ho Chi Minh City – Con Dao Island. VietJet Air is now the country’s only operational private carrier as Indochina Airlines, owned by Ha Hung Dung, commonly known as composer Ha Dung, lost its license in late 2010. Tuoitrenews