The Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) has fined Okay Airways for breaching crew rest regulations. Okay Airways reportedly allowed its pilots to work duty periods that exceeded the maximum allowable time permitted by the regulations. As a result, the crew rest periods were less than the minimum prescribed by the CAAC regulations. The CAAC reportedly fined the airline approximately USD80,000 and has forced the airline to reduce its September schedule by 20 percent as a penalty for the violations.

The Pakistani civil aviation regulator, the PCAA, has grounded three Shaheen Air aircraft over a series of airworthiness safety concerns. The PCAA stated that the aircraft were not in compliance with the Pakistani civil aviation regulations. The PCAA cited that the airline had been advised of the non-compliances, but had failed to rectify them in an appropriate time frame. The privately owned airline confirmed that the aircraft had been grounded. However, the airline also noted that it had not been advised of the specific reasons for the grounding.

In late July 2015, Avianca Brazil officially joined the Star Alliance airline alliance group. The airline commenced its integration process in early 2014, which included aligning the airline’s operations and facilities with the airline alliance group’s standards. Avianca Brazil’s integration into the Star Alliance was prompted by TAM Airlines’ withdrawal from the Star Alliance in March 2014, after the airline transitioned over to the Oneworld airline alliance group due to its merger with LAN Airlines. This subsequently left the alliance group without a member airline in Brazil. The integration into the alliance group will likely facilitate significant commercial opportunities for the airline and significantly expand the airline’s virtual network.