Mexico halts Azteca airline on safety concerns

The Mexican government suspended operations of budget airline Lineas Aereas Azteca on noon (1800 GMT) Monday citing safety concerns and failure to comply with administrative and technical procedures.

At a news conference, Communications and Transport Minister Luiz Tellez said inspections carried out on March 5-23 turned up problems in safety procedures and obligatory training for pilots, technicians and maintenance personnel.

All the airlines' flight were canceled; those who had purchased tickets were to be reimbursed. Tellez said the airline has 90 days to correct the problems.

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The Azteca fleet includes nine planes, of which only four were in operation, Tellez said. During the first two months of this year, the airline transported more than 113,000 passengers, or 2.3 percent of the country's total.

Routes operated by Azteca, a private owned company founded in 2001, are covered by 13 other airlines.

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The suspension comes a week before Easter, when Mexico's holiday resorts, as well as bus routes and flights, typically fill up.

Lineas Aereas Azteca is the second-low cost carrier to be grounded by the Mexican government in the past year. Aerocalifornia was suspended last April for safety reasons, and the airline resumed some operations four months later.