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BEIJING (BLOOMBERG) – Air China Ltd. faced the heat of the regulators for an incident that occurred on July 10 when a pilot, while he was smoking an electronic cigarette in the cockpit, dropped the plane into free fall.
The co-pilot of a Boeing Co. 737, who was flying from Hong Kong to Dalian, attempted to turn off a circulation fan to prevent smoke from reaching the cabin, but ended up turn off the air conditioner, according to a first aviation safety regulator
that triggered a depressurization alert and resulted in a rapid loss of altitude. Oxygen masks dropped when the plane dipped, but it finally landed safely.
As part of the sanctions, the Civil Aviation Administration of China ordered the national public carrier to reduce its Boeing capacity by 10 percent. , government television CCTV announced on its WeChat account Wednesday (July 18). This would be equivalent to a reduction of 5,400 flying hours per month
CAAC also imposed a fine of 50,000 yuan ($ 10,188) on the carrier and canceled the licenses of the pilots involved, according to the channel.
Air China declined to comment. Shares of the domestic carrier fell 1.4% in Hong Kong on Wednesday. The regulator did not specify how long the capacity reduction would be in effect.
The measures taken by the regulator are likely to harm the Beijing-based company, which is already preparing for higher expenses.
The penalty could result in a decrease of about 3 points in the capacity of Air China, according to an estimate of Tianfeng Securities Co.
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