Tiger Airways says it will resume flying on Friday after the Civil Aviation Safety Authority lifted its grounding of the airline.

Tiger says it is resuming ticket sales today, and will start a gradual resumption of domestic services from Friday.

The first flights will be those between Melbourne (Tullamarine) and Sydney, with the resumption of other routes to be announced shortly.

Tiger says it is adopting a simplified flight program concentrating on the most popular and profitable routes.

It does not have much choice in the short-term, as the number of sectors the airline is allowed to fly is initially limited to a maximum of 18 per day for the rest of this month.

The airline says the reduction in the number of flights means it will be operating eight aircraft instead of the current 10, and will close its crew base in Adelaide and temporarily suspend the one at Avalon Airport.

Tiger says it will advise passengers already booked for flights from August 12 of any change to their travel plans, and offer affected customers transfers onto another Tiger Airways flight or a full refund if their flight is not operating.

New Conditions

The suspension has been lifted effective from today, following a grounding that lasted more than a month while CASA investigated safety issues.

As a result of the investigation CASA has imposed a new set of conditions on the airline's certificate to operate.

The conditions cover areas including: pilot training; pilot rostering and fatigue management; updating and revision of operational manuals; the appointment of additional qualified personnel in key positions; and amendments to Tiger's safety management system.

CASA says these conditions also include extra simulator and ground training for Tiger's pilots.

The authority says Tiger demonstrated it can comply with the conditions of its certificate and meet the necessary safety requirements before the flight suspension was lifted.

CASA's director of aviation safety John McCormick says Tiger can be credited with a cooperative approach.

This was a thorough and rigorous investigation of the safety management within Tiger Airways that looked at the factors behind the incidents themselves at safety systems and safety processes, he said.

Tiger Airways has co-operated with our investigation and provided all the relevant documentation and information.

However, the authority says it will be closely monitoring Tiger to ensure it maintains the new standards.

CASA will be closely monitoring the operations of Tiger Airways through scheduled surveillance and regular spot checks, added Mr McCormick.

We will also be meeting regularly with the airline to review ongoing safety performance and compliance with the conditions on the airline's operations.