Cape Town – The SA Civil Aviation Authority says it has suspended SA Express’ Air Operator Certificate due to non-compliance with safety issues.
The regulator says the suspension, effective immediately, follows a series of non-compliance issues.
Recent inspections and audits on the airline’s operations by the SACAA have pointed to inefficient safety monitoring systems, which the SACAA says “poses serious safety hazards and risks to the crew, passengers, and the public at large”.
Added to this the SACAA says it also found the operator’s proposed corrective action plan “inadequate as it does not satisfactorily address the findings raised”.
The airline posted the following to its twitter account, advising customers to contact its customer assistance line on 0861 729227 or report to its ticket sales offices at the airport.
SACAA says “It is critical to note that this suspension is precautionary and taken in the interest of safety and preventing incidents that can be catastrophic. The suspension, which is in terms of Part 185 of the Civil Aviation Regulations, pertains to the operator’s AOC – N399D, S370D, I/N002, and I/S001.”
“For this reason, the Regulator cannot allow the operator to continue with operations until such time that the identified safety concerns are adequately addressed.”
The SACAA said it wishes to emphasise that it is receiving full cooperation from SA Express and will provide any assistance possible, and within the Regulator’s mandate, in order to ensure that the matter is resolved as soon as possible.
“As much as the SACAA is fully aware of the effect and disruptions the suspension has on passengers; it is equally important to note that the decision was not taken lightly and is, in fact, in the interest of ensuring that the operator’s safety systems are beyond reproach and can offer an acceptable level of safety for passengers and crew.”
The suspension is effective as of Saturday, 30 April 2016 and SA Express has a right to appeal the decision within the next 30 days.
Traveller24 has contacted the airline to confirm what affected passengers need to do – details to follow.
traveller24
Johannesburg – In a bid to prevent potential “catastrophic” incidents, the national aviation authority has stopped state airline SA Express flying, leaving angry passengers stuck at airports countrywide on Saturday.
Due to safety concerns, the SA Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) on Saturday suspended the airline’s air operator certificate due to “failure to comply with the applicable civil aviation regulations”.
The decision came without notice for SA Express or passengers.
The aviation authority is a “self-funded agency of the Department of Transport, tasked with promoting and maintaining a safe, secure, and sustainable civil aviation environment”. Spokesman Kabelo Ledwaba said the certification suspension was “precautionary in the interest of safety and preventing incidents that can be catastrophic”.
“The suspension follows a series of non-compliances and the SACAA’s dissatisfaction with the operator’s safety monitoring systems, which are meant to monitor and address any safety deficiencies.
“The regulator also found the operator’s proposed corrective action plan inadequate as it does not satisfactorily address the findings raised.”
SA Express chief executive Inati Ntshanga confirmed the aviation authority’s action was because it “deems our quality assurance systems to be inadequate”.
But Ntshanga said: “Since we started operations 22 years ago, we have had an impeccable safety record as safety has always been our first and foremost priority and we will never compromise our passengers, crew, the public or aircraft safety.
“We are currently in discussions with SACAA and take their concerns very seriously to resolve these challenges as a matter of urgency.”
Ledwaba said the aviation authority’s recent inspections and audits on the airline’s operations had “pointed to inefficient safety monitoring systems and some level of failure by the operator to satisfactorily address concerns”.
“SACAA views the inefficiency of the safety monitoring systems in a serious light as it poses serious safety hazards and risks to the crew, passengers, and the public at large.”
Ntshanga said they would remain grounded “until such time that the SACAA’s concerns have been addressed and the airline has been granted permission to operate again”.
“SA Express has confirmed that passengers will be accommodated,” he added.
Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown offered an apology to stranded passengers. “As a (government) shareholder representative of SA Express, I apologise to passengers who have been inconvenienced by the suspension of the company’s certificate.”
She was “providing all the necessary support to management of SA Express to resolve this matter”.
Department director-general Mogokare Seleke would “lead talks with the SACAA to resolve this matter”, she said.
Earlier this month SA Express officials appeared before Parliament’s select committee on public accounts to answer questions about poor performance.
Along with national carrier SAA, the troubled airline has needed government bailouts.
Brown this month favoured a merger of the airlines to “streamline finances and technical expertise”.
SA Express meanwhile communicated via its online social media platforms with passengers – and they fired back.
Passenger Tony Rushton said SA Express was “utterly shameless”, while Siphe Macanda said it was “chaos at the Cape Town airport (as) all SA Express flights have been ground(ed)”.
“Some people have been waiting since six in the morning,” said Macanda.
IOL
JOHANNESBURG – The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) has suspended South African Express’s air operator certificate due to the airline’s non-compliance with safety protocols.
The suspension is effective from today; which means no passengers will be able to board an SA Express plane until the company has complied with its requirements.
The SACAA has not specified the breaches by SA Express but says the airline failed to adequately address concerns that it raised earlier this month.
The civil aviation’s Simon Segwabe says the decision to ground SA Express was taken in the interest of the safety of crew and passengers.
“This year we conducted an audit on the South African Express operation on 19 and 20 April. They were then required to provide us with a correct defection plan on 29 April. The company did submit the correct defection plan. However, we found it inadequate whereby it could not give us adequate assurance that the operator is conducting a safe operation.”
At the same time, SA Express says it is working with the Civil Aviation Authority to ensure the airline is granted permission to operate again and management has called on passengers to be patient while they urgently sort out the problem.
Segwabe says they don’t want to take any chances and had to temporarily halt the airline’s operations.
“Our auditor is seeking to check whether those control or monitory measures are effective enough. Should we find that there are deficiency in the system we can therefore not allow further operation until those deficiencies are addressed.”
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