South Africa’s civil aviation regulator’s grounding of Comair's planes indefinitely affects passengers of low-cost airline Kulula and British Airways.
The regulator said the airline company had not adequately addressed safety issues.
A spokesperson for the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) said it had extended a 24-hour precautionary suspension of Comair's operator certificate indefinitely, Reuters reported.
In its investigations, the regulator said it had discovered three so-called “level 1” findings “which pose an immediate risk” and must be addressed immediately.
In response to the suspension, Kulula issued the following statement on its social media channels: “Despite working through the night, Comair will not be able to resume operations today. The SACAA still needs to review documentation provided overnight. We continue to engage constructively with the SACAA.”
Comair regrets to advise that its flights remain cancelled today 14 March with the indefinite suspension by the CAA of our operating licence until such time as they have had time to review and satisfy themselves that the items they have raised are closed.
— kulula (@kulula) March 14, 2022
In the meantime, the budget airline has chartered two aircraft to assist vulnerable passengers and those who most urgently need to travel.
Passengers who do not fall into these categories are urged not to travel to the airport unless they have been able to make alternative arrangements.
For those booked with British Airways (operated by Comair), British Airways’ booking with confidence policy will apply, while kulula.com customers can rebook with no change penalties, subject to availability of the same fare class.
“This morning we communicated to them (Comair) that their air operator certificate is now indefinitely suspended until they close all of the findings,” SACAA spokesperson Phindiwe Gwebu told Reuters on Sunday, effectively grounding the company’s fleet of Boeing BA.N aircraft.
The regulator added that in the past month Comair had experienced safety problems ranging from “engine failures, engine malfunction and landing gear malfunctions”, among others.