Edinburgh-based, budget airline Flyglobespan is to be prosecuted by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for breach of safety regulations.
Flyglobespan is alleged to have flown a plane knowing that its engine pressure gauges were broken when the plane should have been grounded for repair work. The company is also alleged to have failed to file a safety report about the incident, which reportedly occurred in June 2007.
This will be the first such prosecution of an airline by the CAA in 10 years. It follows temporary suspension in October last year of Flyglobespan's Extended Range Twin Operations (ETOPS) licence over concerns about its operations. The ETOPS licence allows a company to fly planes directly across the Atlantic. Without it aircraft must adopt a flight path that remains within an hour of the nearest airport.
Flyglobespan flies from Edinburgh airport and Glasgow airport to destinations in Europe and North America.