By: Natasha Archary
The South African Civial Aviation Authority (SACAA) has grounded Comair indefinitely. This affects both British Airways and Kulula flights in the country.
Scores of British Airways and Kulula passengers have been left stranded as a result.
SACAA’s decision to ground Comair is due to safety concerns after an investigation found multiple shortfalls.
This includes engine failures, flights being forced to reroute due to technical faults, and others facing emergency landings after a malfunction with their landing gear.
On Sunday, the 20th of February a number of passengers on board a British Airways flight from East London headed to Johannesburg had a very turbulent flight.
The plane was reportedly forced to do a u-turn after the pilot discovered that the landing gear had malfunctioned.
Over 30 passengers were on board the plane. The fault happened less than 30 minutes after take-off.
Meanwhile, passengers who have flights booked with British Airways, can change their travel dates and destinations to a later date.
Details can be found on the company’s website and falls under its confidence policy.
Transport Minister, Fikile Mbalula, has been advised that the decision taken by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) to suspend the air operator’s certificate was a precautionary measure.
“The commitment to safety, in this case, supersedes any other need and this is to ensure that South Africa maintains its safety record of having zero fatal airline accidents in over thirty years on South African soil. The lives of our aviation personnel and the users of civil aviation services is paramount, and it is a responsibility the regulator does not take lightly.”
SACAA released in a statement



