Passengers stranded, irate over flight suspensions

DURBAN resident, Alia Khan is one of thousands of Kulula passengers stranded after the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) suspended the air operator certificate of Comair as a precautionary measure.

The action follows a series of safety incidents, involving British Airways Comair and Kulula.com, which led the regulator to conduct a safety oversight inspection to determine compliance with the Civil Aviation Regulations.

Khan, who was due to fly out of Cape Town International Airport on Wednesday morning expressed her outrage over the flight cancellation.

Kulula issued a statement on their Twitter account saying despite their best efforts, the CAA suspension remains in place for Comair.

Despite our very best efforts, the CAA suspension remains in place for Comair. We regret that flights on 16 March have thus been cancelled and apologise for the inconvenience. We continue to engage with the CAA to have the suspension lifted.

— kulula (@kulula) March 16, 2022

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On Tuesday, Kulula said customers would receive a full credit to the value of their ticket valid for a period of six months.

However, for Khan and other passengers who took to social media to voice their frustrations, this is unacceptable.

“This flight was booked months in advance. Both my brother and I had planned to fly to Durban from Johannesburg and Cape Town respectively to visit our mom and our grandfather, who hasn’t been well. I’ve been looking forward to being back home but this whole situation has left me frustrated and angry. I’ve messaged Kulula on various social media platforms to voice my anger because I don’t want a travel voucher from them, I want a full refund. I don’t think I would consider them for any future flights,” she said.

5/6 – https://t.co/cK3xAJazYb customers will receive a full credit to the value of their ticket deposited in their Travel Bank for future travel valid for a period of six months. Customers wishing to rebook should email MNContactCentre@comair.co.za.

— kulula (@kulula) March 14, 2022

Khan added that the prices had almost doubled since the suspension of flights.

Speaking on the suspensions, SACAA spokesperson Phindiwe Gwebu said the authority is fully committed to ensuring that the operator is back in the air.

“The commitment to safety, in this case, supersedes any other need and this is to ensure that South Africa maintains its safety record of having zero fatal airline accidents in over thirty years on South African soil. The lives of our aviation personnel and the users of civil aviation services is paramount, and it is a responsibility the Regulator does not take lightly,” Gwebu said. 

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