South African airlines cleared to fly again
Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – British Airways and Kulula flights are allowed to start operating with immediate effect after the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) reinstated their Air Operators' Certificate.
The SACAA suspended both airlines five days ago after flagging “immediate risk to safety and security”. It said discrepancies were found in “a spate of occurrences affecting a concerning number of flights”.
The SACAA said its inspection had resulted in the regulator raising "three Level One findings, and one Level Two finding".
“We're pleased that the situation is finally resolved, following an immense effort over five days and nights to engage and work with the SACAA. Our focus is now to get our operations back to normal as quickly as possible so we can further assist our customers,” said Glenn Orsmond, the CEO of Comair, which owns both airlines in South Africa.
SACAA said South Africa holds a very high-performance record in terms of the standards of safety and security.
The country’s safety index is rated at level +1 which is above average internationally. South Africa is also among the top 40 amongst 193 countries globally in terms of its air safety record.
-0- PANA CU/MA 17March2022
