China Southern Airlines graft probe nets top boss Si Xianmin after rout of senior roles

China Southern Airlines chairman Si Xianmin is being investigated for “serious discipline violations”, the Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said on its website yesterday evening.

On the mainland, “discipline violation” is generally used as a euphemism for corruption.

Si is the highest ranking official to fall at the state-owned airline listed in Shanghai and Hong kong. It is China’s largest airline by passenger traffic. It also boasts Asia’s largest fleet of aircraft that is expected to grow to 657 by the end of the year.

The news has shaken  the mainland’s aviation circle as it marks the biggest graft probe to date into China’s booming state-owned aviation airlines. The top management at these airlines usually have career trajectories across the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and the “Big Three” airlines – China Southern, Air China and China Eastern Airlines Corp.

LOOKING BACK: China Southern graft probe puts booming mainland airline industry on edge

But many industry insiders said they were not surprised as Si is said to have been under watch over allegations of bribery since the central government’s graft busters inspected the company late last year.