The first took place in January when the airline's Boeing ES-ABL was forced to make an emergency landing due to the halt of its right engine. The second was in February when flames shot out of the same engine prior to takeoff, wrote Eesti Ekspress.

The CAA reacted by issuing an injunction in which its Director General, Koit Kaskel, said that the carrier’s board "excessively interferes with aircraft and flight operations without adequate information or knowledge," and that "saving money is often done at the expense of safety."

Information about the events came to light only recently as the CAA typically refrains from publicizing information about potentially hazardous incidents that occur in the country’s airspace.

According to the institution, the injunction was not publicly disclosed because Estonia is too small a country for such transparency and incidents of that nature might damage the interests of airlines. This situation can in turn allow airlines to refrain from reporting their mishaps to the public.

Ingrid Teesalu