As we reported earlier today, the company Nature Air was expecting to receive the green light to resume operations in the country in the next few days, Civil Aviation confirmed this afternoon that they are lifting the suspension and the domestic airline can begin operating again immediately.

The General Directorate of Civil Aviation confirmed that Nature Air had presented all pertinent documentation and information required last Monday and the same was being analyzed and verified. This Thursday afternoon Civil Aviation confirmed that the company has complied with all the requirements listed, including hiring additional personnel, Civil Aviation was satisfied with the measures taken and therefore lifted the suspension that had been established in January 11.

Nature Air was notified by Civil Aviation of the suspension of its operations due to the fact that the company “didn’t have the structure to operate properly and guarantee the execution of the flight operations with safety;” in particular since they lost key personnel after the death of pilot Juan Manuel Retana (in the tragic plane crash of Dec.31) who was the Chief Trainer; the resignation of the Director of Operations, Jorge Valverde shortly after the crash, and the sick leave of Rodney Duran, Chief of Flight Security.

The news of the suspension came just 11 days after the tragic airplane accident in which 10 US tourists lost their lives.

Nelson Vega, General Manager of Nature Air, assured in an interview with national news daily La Nacion, that the suspension has resulted in losses of over $1.2 million.

The investigation regarding statements made by the former Director of Operations Jorge Valverde in his letter of resignation where he makes reference to some irregularities in the operations of the company (the details have not been disclosed) continues, as well as the investigation to find out the cause of the plane crash that occurred December 31st is still open, the Judicial Investigative Organism (OIJ) carried out three searches in the first days of January in the offices of Nature Air at the Juan Santamaria Airport and the Tobias Bolaños Aiport as well as in the offices of Civil Aviation in La Uruca to collect data related to the aircraft, the flight records, maintenance information and digital files. The engine recovered of the Cessna 208B Caravan was also sent to the manufacturer Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC), and evidence was collected at the scene of the accident.