SA Express was grounded on Thursday afternoon after the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) uncovered severe cases of non-compliance.
This comes on the same day as Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan announced the appointment of a new board for the airline and follows an audit at the airline and its maintenance organisation in the past several days.
It also follows shortly after an SA Express flight between East London and Johannesburg was rerouted back to East London Airport because of what the airline described as "an engine malfunction".
The SACAA said on Thursday that it had suspended SA Express’s Air Operator's Certificate as well as the airline’s Aircraft Maintenance Organisation approvals. It has also suspended the Certificates of Airworthiness of nine of the 21 aircraft being operated by the airline.
“In order to be able to operate, SA Express will have to reapply and be issued with relevant approvals,” the SACAA said in a statement.
While the SACAA does not make the details of its audit findings public, it revealed that there were 17 findings, of which five were categorised as Level 1 findings. The SACAA describes Level 1 findings as follows: “A Level 1 category finding can be described as a ‘severe non-compliance or non-conformance that poses a very serious safety or security risk to the public and will necessitate the immediate exercising of the discretionary enforcement powers vested in the authorised persons, in the interests of safeguarding aviation safety or security.”
“The airline could not ensure that operational requirements and, most importantly, safety obligations, are met at all times,” said the SACAA.
“As the custodian of aviation safety and security in the country, the SACAA cannot turn a blind eye to any operation where there is overwhelming evidence that safety measures are compromised, because that automatically poses serious danger for the crew, passengers, and the public at large,” said Poppy Khoza, SACAA director of Civil Aviation.
SA Express said on Thursday that it would accommodate passengers on other airlines and refund tickets in line with its compensation rules.
“Passenger safety remains our top priority and our 24-year safety record reflects this. We are therefore working closely with the SACAA to address the issues highlighted by them,’’ said Matsietsi Mokholo, acting ceo of SA Express.
SA Express said that passengers with any questions and concerns can call 011 978 2355/5096/6384 from 06h00 to 11h00, to speak to a company representative.
