AIRLINES breathed a sigh
of relief as Home Affairs
announced in the media
that it had granted a “grace
period” for the new immigration
regulations. But a crippling
lack of communication from
the DHA to the trade has left
the airline industry unprepared
on how to deal with the new
regulations.
June Crawford, ceo
of the Board of Airline
Representatives South
Africa (Barsa), says when
the DHA goes ahead with
the implementation of the
new regulations, airlines
will be obliged to ensure
that passengers are in
possession of the necessary
documentation. “This could
result in passengers being
denied boarding, as there is a
general rule that if passengers
are refused entry into a
country and need repatriation
the cost is borne by the
airline.”
Airlines are at a loss as
to how to communicate the
new regulations to their
passengers. Most airlines
contacted by TNW declined to
comment, saying they were
in ongoing discussions with
their head offices on how to
address the situation.
Michi Messner, Qantas
regional manager for Africa,
told TNW: “At no stage did
the Department of Home
Affairs engage with Qantas to
provide a framework for the
implementation of the new
policy.”
She added that the airline
was currently in the process
of preparing a strategy
to communicate the new
regulation to all customers and
travel agents.
Simon Newton-Smith, Virgin
Atlantic’s head of Middle East
and Africa and chairman of
Barsa, says it was unlikely the
DHA had been aware of the
repercussions for the tourism
industry when they announced
the new regulations.
“The DHA is not going
out of its way to cripple the
industry.” He added that the
new regulations were based
on admirable principles to
counter child trafficking but,
as they stand, they present
major pitfalls that could have
been avoided if the industry
had been consulted. Simon
said that, although a solution
had not been formulated as
yet, Virgin Atlantic would be as
proactive as possible to assist
its passengers.
Lufthansa and SWISS
updated their cancellation
policies to assist affected
passengers. The airlines said
in a statement: “All family
tickets issued on/before June
10 that have been affected by
the new South African Home
Affairs ruling regarding the new
regulation for parents to carry
an unabridged birth certificate
for their child/children, please
note that Lufthansa and
Swiss International Air Lines
will allow one free date change
for such affected family tickets
or a full refund if they wish to
cancel their bookings.”
On the other hand, Mango’s
spokesperson, Hein Kaiser,
told TNW that this was a “legal
instrument and travellers had
been notified in time along
with a period of grace”.
“Airlines are not liable for
compensation in terms of
external regulations whereby
the responsibility for valid
travel documentation lies with
the individual,” he said. For
individuals who are unable to
obtain the documentation in
time, Hein said Mango would
manage and assist each
individual instance.
SAA did not manage to
respond to questions from
TNW at time of publication.
Spokesperson for SAA, Tlali
Tlali, told TNW it was a
complex matter that needed to
be addressed at the highest
level in the company.
