US politicians lobbying for tighter aviation security scored an apparent victory last week when Indigo Airlines was forced to drop its scheduled business jet service between New York Teterboro and Chicago Midway. Indigo had been dogged by legal queries since it made its four-times daily scheduled flights permanent in March, and the suspension has raised doubts over the future of its Embraer EMB-135BJ Legacy fleet.
Indigo says it has suspended its "regular and frequent public charter service" between Teterboro and Midway and is "reorganising finances and operations and hopes to resume service in the future".
Local residents keen to restrict the airport to private use had asked the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to examine the legality of running a scheduled service from Teterboro.
Republican Congressman Steve Rothman, who asked the US Transportation Security Administration to examine security measures at Teterboro, says the suspension of flights by Indigo should "prevent other copycat air traffic to Teterboro from other parts of the country". Such prevention is "critical to improving homeland security", he adds. Indigo was accused of performing less rigorous pre-flight security checks than large airlines because of the small aircraft and airports used.
The airline operated the service with the first two 16-seat Legacys from its order of 25, which replaced Dassault Falcon 20s. The carrier was US launch customer for the Embraer business jet and was to have launched other services from Midway as the remaining aircraft were delivered. It failed to take delivery of its third Legacy in April for undisclosed reasons, and a planned service between Midway and Westchester-White Plains, New York, has yet to begin.
Source: Flight International
