Comair is reported to have moved the maintenance of some of its aircraft from one service provider to another.
The airline claims it is switching from Lufthansa Technik Maintenance International (LTMI) to South African Airways Technical (SAAT). Both service providers are currently being used, but now, said the airline, the work that LTMI was doing would go to SAAT.
This comes after the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) suspended Comair’s flights indefinitely after a series of incidents. After the airline’s Air Operator Certificate was restored five days later, another incident occurred on Saturday, March 19, in which a Comair aircraft’s landing gear malfunctioned.
What has now emerged is that after LTMI passed a routine audit by the CAA in February, a second, unscheduled review by the CAA last week produced a number of findings that had to be addressed by yesterday evening, or LTMI's Approved Maintenance Organisation (AMO) licence would be suspended, according to a Comair statement. Comair said it was acting pre-emptively.
“Our priority at the moment is to restore a full, reliable flight schedule for our customers to ensure they can book and fly with confidence, which is why, in these extraordinary circumstances, we acted as soon as we were informed that the suspension was a possibility,” said Comair CEO, Glenn Orsmond.
Comair went on record saying that Lufthansa and its technical maintenance facility ranked globally as "one of the world's most respected airlines and maintenance organisations". But the airline company also said it respected and fully supported the SACAA in fulfilling its mandate, which was to ensure that flight safety standards prevailed in South Africa.
