Mbalula reaffirms safety of South Africa’s aviation sector
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula on Thursday reaffirmed that it was safe to fly on South Africa’s airlines after most of the aircraft grounded over safety concerns earlier in the week resumed operations.
Earlier this week, South African Airways (SAA), Mango Airlines and Comair chose to ground some of their aircraft after the South Africa Civil Aviation Authority (Sacaa) identified potential safety concerns as a result of maintenance work undertaken by South African Airways Technical (SAAT).
Mbalula pointed out during a media briefing held at OR Tambo International Airport, that Sacaa’s inspectorate had conducted early renewal inspection and surveillance audits at various airports to ensure they comply with applicable regulations.
The audit of SAAT resulted in five findings relating to noncompliance with the Civil Aviation Regulations.
Mbalula said that, despite Sacaa having accepted the corrective action plan submitted by SAAT, two findings that could have affected the entire fleets of Mango, Comair and SAA remained a cause for concern.
These related to unqualified personnel having released or signed off on maintenance work; and incorrectly completed checks on flight data recorders and voice recorders.
Following engagement with airlines, SAA, Comair and Mango decided to ground 25, 12 and 7 aircraft, respectively, resulting in flight delays.
Sacaa head Poppy Khoza, meanwhile, on Thursday, informed that, of the 44 aircraft, 40 had been released back to service after assuring the regulator of compliance.
Mbalula assured the country that airports were maintaining their standards in terms of on-time performance after a slight drop on Wednesday.
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