Discount airline Viva Macau has apologized publicly to thousands of air travelers it stranded after aviation authorities grounded the airline on the weekend.

As many as 4739 passengers were stuck when 33 flights were cancelled suddenly on Friday, after the Macau Civil Aviation Authority revoked its license to fly.

The Macau Authorities cancelled Viva Macau’s Air Operator’s Certificate after the airline failed to pay its fuel bill, leaving passengers bound for Melbourne, Sydney, Tokyo, Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi in limbo.

Today, the airline issued an apology via a Hong Kong PR company, to try to explain its predicament.

"Viva Macau had taken steps, including prepayment [for fuel] of all weekend flights last Friday afternoon. Our shareholders also offered credit guarantees to the [fuel] supplier.

"Unfortunately, no agreement could be reached and therefore flights were stopped unexpectedly,’’ the company said in its statement.

The statement was not attributed to anyone in the company, though it is believed the airline’s chief executive Reg Macdonald is still running the company.

The company said it had been in "active’’ communication with all parties and was ‘‘deeply surprised to learn that our AOC [Air Operator’s Certificate] was revoked without prior notification."

Macau’s aviation authorities have been highly critical of how the airline handled the crisis, describing the airline management as "uncooperative," "irresponsible" and "didn’t show up to provide assistance or details" about stranded passengers.

Macau’s Tourism Crisis Management Office scrambled to buy tickets on other carriers to get tourists home, according to media reports from Macau.

The airline acceded to a request to halt selling tickets online.

Viva Macau danced into Melbourne in December accompanied by showgirl feather-and-sequined fanfare, with Melbourne airport chief executive Chris Woodruff warmly welcoming the airline as the 26th to international carrier to operate from the airport.

"We work hard to make Melbourne as attractive as possible to the airline market by working to keep costs low and maximizing key advantages such as our single terminal precinct and curfew-free operations. Viva Macau is proof this approach is working," Mr Woodruff said at the time.

But Melbourne Airport has now clammed up on discussing Viva Macau’s predicament, citing commercial confidentiality in arrangements it has with airlines.

Source: theage.com.au