Fastjet's flights between Dar es Salaam and Johannesburg are still on hold, with the Department of Transport (DoT) unable to reveal when the airline will be given the go ahead to launch operations.
The airline hoped to inaugurate flights on September 27. The DoT says it is as still awaiting all the relevant documents.
The first scheduled flight was, according to the carrier, postponed due to “unexpected administrative delays caused by the South African Department of Transport making a very late request for additional documentation,” said a statement.
But Andries Ntjane, the DoT's deputy director of licensing and permits, said the delay was caused by fastjet originally having submitted all of its documents under the name ‘Fly540’. Fastjet received a Foreign Operating Permit for the Dar es Salaam to Johannesburg route in July for Fly 540 Tanzania, operating as fastjet Airlines, from the DoT. In August, however, the Tanzanian company’s name was officially changed to fastjet Airlines Tanzania.
Andries explained that new documents needed to be submitted, reflecting the new name and the DoT is still waiting for some of these.
