Flair Airlines has been making a ton of noise in the Canadian travel marketplace. We should find out tomorrow if that’s going to continue.
Officials from the Edmonton-based airline on Wednesday (June 1) are expected to announce the results of a Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) investigation on whether it may continue to fly in Canada.
The Canadian government has been looking into allegations that Flair didn’t meet the conditions to qualify as being Canadian owned. Ottawa says at least 51 per cent of a company’s voting interests must be owned and controlled by Canadians and no more than 25 per cent of the voting interests may be by any single non-Canadian entity or individual for a company to be considered Canadian.
Flair officials in April said they intended to keep operating.
“I want to be really clear. We will not be grounded as a consequence of this review,” President and CEO Stephen Jones said at the time.
According to Global News, “the ultra-low-cost carrier has outlined steps it’s taken to fix the CTA’s concerns since the initial ruling but has also asked Canada’s transportation minister, Omar Alghabra, for an 18-month extension to meet the standards and refinance debt tied to an American investor.”
The CTA said earlier this month that it will outline its decision on June 1. Flair’s license would likely be suspended if the CTA finds it’s in violation of Canadian ownership rules.
