Flair Airlines says it will keep operating in Canada. Here’s how

Flair Airlines downplayed concerns Thursday that the ultra low-cost carrier could lose its licence to fly in Canada.Stephen Jones outlined steps the airline is taking to overhaul its board and refinance its debt to reduce foreign influence on the company.Flair is in the midst of a licence review from the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA), which said in a preliminary finding last month that the Edmonton-based airline might not meet Canadian ownership requirements to fly in the country.The air industry watchdog said Flair’s Miami-based business partner, 777 Partners, might have “control in fact” over the airline, which would violate rules under the Canada Transportation Act.

Flair Airlines could be grounded in Canada over foreign control concerns Flair has until May 3 to respond to the CTA’s concerns, or it risks having its licence suspended.Jones told reporters Thursday the company will meet that deadline to formally respond and added there is “zero chance” the company loses its licence on that day.May 3 is not a “drop dead date,” Jones said, but is rather a point at which the CTA is expecting a formal response.

It will then consider Flair’s points and the changes made to date and determine whether the issues flagged in its preliminary review still stand or need further attention.Jones called the CTA’s basis for “control in fact” — rather than hard metrics such as shareholder interest — a “subjective test” that does not have a clear point of transgression.“It’s not like we could see this line and we consciously walked over it.