‘We’re not going anywhere’ – Skywise

SKYWISE, the low-cost carrier
that has been struggling to
launch operations for over
a year now, says, despite
a recent major setback,
it is still set on launching
domestic services.
The Air Services Licensing
Council cancelled Skywise’s
air service licence – which
was issued in March last
year – because it is only
valid for a year and the
airline had failed to begin
operating within the required
time.
Andries Ntjane, ASLC
deputy director: licensing
and permits, said Skywise
applied for an extension, but
the Air Services Licensing
Council declined this.
Rodney James, ceo of
Skywise, said: “It’s obviously
a big blow to Skywise but we
are looking at our options.
We’re not going to roll over
and go away, not just yet.”
He said the ASLC cancelled
Skywise’s licence despite its
“very reasonable request for
a short extension”.
Skywise is still in the
process of obtaining an Air
Operator Certicate (AOC)
from the South African Civil
Aviation Authority. Phindiwe
Gwebu, spokesperson for
SACAA, said Skywise still had
a number of requirements
to meet for the ve-phase
process of obtaining an AOC.
“Unfortunately I can’t
comment on our next move
as we’re waiting for a legal
opinion and we’re considering
a plan B, which we’ve been
working on for a couple of
months,” Rodney says.
Andries told TNW Skywise
would have to start from
scratch and reapply for the
licence, which also meant
there was once again an
opportunity for competitors
to object to their plans of
launching a new service.
When it initially applied for a
licence in October 2012, the
Council received objections
from ex-1time employees.