OPERATORS for Kulula and British Airways hope to return flights by midday on Sunday after the two airlines were grounded for 24 hours over safety concerns were short lived.
South Africa's civil aviation regulator grounded Comair's planes indefinitely on Sunday, saying the operator had not adequately addressed safety issues, in a move that thousands low-cost airline Kulula and British Airways passengers.
A spokesperson for the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) said it had extended a 24-hour precautionary suspension of Comair's operator certificate indefinitely.
The suspension was meant to end on Sunday, but Comair had not adequately addressed all the necessary safety issues, the SACAA said.
On Saturday, the passengers booked for flights on either airline were stranded after the South African Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) suspended all flights following an investigation into incidents of mechanical problems.
CAA said the suspension followed an investigation into the recent spate of safety incidents with the operator.
CAA confirmed that just in the past month, Comair operations experienced engine failures, engine malfunction and landing gear malfunctions, among others issues.
By Saturday evening the operator indicated that they planned to resume operations by Sunday noon pending CAA’s approval.
According to Comair, the suspension came after review of policies, systems and procedures - issues that they had responded to by Friday. But they were still hit with a suspension pending the provision of additional documentation.
“We are doing everything possible to get the suspension lifted. We continue to engage constructively with the CAA and are working hard to provide the CAA with the additional information it requires,” said Comair chief Glenn Orsmond.
The company said they were working with CAA to get the suspension lifted before Sunday noon to give them enough time to make arrangements to run “as normal a schedule as possible”.
Comair said it would be doing everything it could to accommodate customers affected by the suspension on other flights, prioritising vulnerable customers and those who most urgently needed to travel.
“We understand the frustration and inconvenience this has caused and are doing everything we can to assist.”
Comair said it would keep customers updated.