In a statement, the low-cost carrier also said it complied with regulations and requirements stipulated in countries it operated in, including Australia.
“AirAsia remains committed to meeting all safety and security requirements in all the countries that we operate in,” it added.
The statement comes a day after Deputy Transport Minister Aziz Kaprawi told FMT that AirAsia should check with the aircraft manufacturer for the reasons behind the technical problem it faced Sunday that forced an AirAsia X flight to return to Perth.
He had said the Airbus manufacturer was responsible for ensuring every aircraft was safe “unless AirAsia was not following the strict procedures of (upkeeping) the aircraft”.
Aziz had also said he would instruct the department of civil aviation to check on the maintenance records of aircraft belonging to all Malaysian-owned airlines.
The AirAsia X flight D7237 from Perth to Kuala Lumpur was forced to turn back after the Airbus A330 aircraft with 359 passengers experienced problems about 90 minutes into the journey.
One passenger was reported as saying the plane was “shaking like a washing machine”.
The aircraft landed safely but an Australian newspaper claimed the plane returned only on one engine after a blade in one of its two engines sheared off.
It was the second scare involving an Airbus A330 in Australia this month, with a China Eastern plane making an emergency landing in Sydney after a huge hole appeared in one of its engine casings.
In its statement, AirAsia said the company voluntarily underwent the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) for all airlines within the group, including AirAsia X Malaysia, AirAsia X Indonesia and AirAsia Indonesia.
AirAsia X Malaysia received two IOSA certificates in 2015 and 2016.
“The safety of our guests and crew is of utmost importance to us. We are currently conducting an investigation into the cause of the incident together with our engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce. We are also cooperating fully with the local aviation authorities,” AirAsia added.
Meanwhile, abc.met.au, an Australian news portal, quoted aviation consultant Trevor Jenson as saying it was not unreasonable for planes to experience such “technical issues” in view of the number of hours a plane clocked.
“They are well and truly within the probabilities of millions of millions,” he said, but insisted that such events must be carefully investigated all the same.
AirAsia X engineers checking plane that was turned back to Perth
AirAsia plane ‘shaking like washing machine’ returns to Australia