SACAA urged to ground Comair again after British Airways flight landing incident

There has been a call for Comair’s operating licence to suspended yet again after a British Airways flight experienced technical problems with its landing gear on Saturday.

The flight, which was travelling from Gqeberha to Cape Town, had trouble landing at an airport, resulting in a 15 minute delay.

“We confirm that following a landing gear warning indication on BA6324 on final approach from Gqeberha to Cape Town International Airport, the pilot performed standard safety checks, and once the correct reading was achieved a normal landing was carried out,” a statement read.

ALSO READ: British Airways flight fails to land four times after Comair suspension lift

According to SABC News, the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) is already looking into Saturday’s incident and an investigation into the matter may be launched, based on the information the regulator is gathering.

The incident comes days after the SACAA lifted its 5-day suspension on Comair, which operates the local British Airways and low-cost carrier Kulula.com.

The SACAA had suspended Comair’s Air Operator Certificate (AOC) last week over safety-related issues, and was initially meant to last for 24 hours.

British Airways and Kulula flights were, however, indefinitely suspended the next day.

‘Security threat’

In light of the recent incident, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has called for Comair’s subsidiaries to be permanently grounded “until an intensive audit is done of all their aircrafts, pilots and safety regulations”.

The EFF said in a statement that “the situation has reached a level where it now constitutes a security threat”.

“We must not wait until lives are lost, and an aircraft crashes into innocent communities, before we stop the blood-thirsty quest by capitalists to make money without any due consideration of safety and compliance,” the Red Berets said.

READ MORE: Numsa says Comair must take drastic measures to turn the airline around

The party argued that the SACAA’s audit on Comair was “rushed”, saying the airline “was allowed to resume its operations without adequate checks and compliance to technical requirements being met.”

“This is us without a doubt due to undue pressure by commercial interests in the aviation sector, to resume operations,” the EFF said.

“This is the hallmark of how the private sector operates and the barbarian nature of capital. The safety and security of passengers, and the cost of human life has been disregarded, in the interests of profit maximisation,” the party added.

Business rescue

Meanwhile, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), which represents a large group of Comair employees, has since called for the removal of the operator’s CEO, Glenn Orsmond.

Numsa protested outside Comair’s offices on Tuesday, handing over a memorandum to Orsmond.

Comair has faced a series of technical problems recently which – according to the SACAA – ranged from engine failures, engine malfunction and landing gear malfunctions, amongst others.

READ MORE: Anger over Comair grounding as thousands stranded

It was the third time since 2007 the operator has been grounded due to safety concerns.

The company is also currently under business rescue.

According to Moneyweb, Comair will require “further funding” in order “to continue with its operations on a sustainable basis”, which was revealed in a business rescue status report.

The report was published at the end of January.

It will cost estimated R700 million for Comair to restarts, according to the business rescue plan.