This is a developing story. Follow eTNW for updates.
09h37: Comair has released a statement saying that four of its affected aircraft have been released back into service. The airline expects the full fleet to be back in operation by the morning of October 23.
10h53: Comair says that a third of its services have been affected due to the notice received from the SACAA.
11h20: Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) released a statement saying that it is working with the affected airlines to understand their respective contingency plans and the impact of the SACAA notice on airport operations.
14h30: Comair expects its full fleet to be back in operation by October 23 and normal operations are expected.
Comair, Mango and SAA have warned travellers of affected flights schedules and flight delays as a result of safety concerns and irregularities at South African Airways Technical (SAAT).
In its statement, Comair says that on the evening of October 21, the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) issued a notice related to ‘irregular findings’ picked up during an audit of SAAT, and says that affected aircraft may not be flown until the necessary corrective actions have been taken out.
Meanwhile, South African Airways (SAA) has also advised passengers that it may operate an amended flight schedule following a recall of some of its aircraft to undertake compliance verification in line with the SACAA requirements.
Mango has also confirmed that some of its aircraft have been affected by the SAAT audit, but says that it is confident that the aircraft will be ready for service during the course of today.
It adds that there will be delays, but that it will keep affected passengers updated via SMS and social media.
The national carrier adds that some of its flights will operate later than usual, with four domestic flight cancellations, and that it has contingency plans in place, including deploying bigger aircraft to accommodate affected passengers.
Comair adds that it too has contingency plans in place to minimise disruptions to operations and urges passengers to check their flight status on relevant websites for kulula.com and British Airways (operated by Comair).
