Further delays in the return of Tiger Airways to the skies over Australia appear inevitable after the low-cost carrier began refunding customers booked to fly before August 4th. Tiger had been seeking to re-launch on August 1st after being grounded by the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority earlier this month.

Officials at the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) in Australia have confirmed they will seek to lift restrictions on Tiger Airways if “all safety issues are fixed”. Tiger has been grounded since July 2nd following “serious and imminent” safety lapses linked to pilot proficiency, training and fatigue management.

Officials at the Civil Aviation Safety Authority in Australia have sought to extend the one-week grounding of Tiger Airways, effectively banning the carrier from operations until August. The news comes as Tiger chief executive, Crawford Rix, confirmed he will leave the airline on July 31st.

Australian flag-carrier Qantas and Virgin Australia are expected to be the big winners down under following the grounding of rival Tiger Airways. Singapore-based Tiger was banned from the skies by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority over the weekend, with as many as 40,000 passengers set to be hit over the coming days.

Safety was at the heard of a developing debate in Australia this morning, with carriers offering sharply different responses to the ongoing ash cloud crisis. While Australian flag-carrier Qantas has cancelled flights across the country, competitor Virgin Atlantic insisted it was safe to fly.

As part of its commitment to further reduce fares and provide opportunities for even more people to fly, Tiger Airways, Australia’s low fare airline, is introducing new check-in options this week (from 01 July 2010)