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In a statement on Tuesday morning, airline operator Comair, which runs British Airways and kulula.com in South Africa, confirmed that the compliance interruption to their schedule would not be long-lasting.
Four planes were already back in service on Tuesday.”
“We can confirm that four of the affected aircraft have been released back into service and we are expecting the full fleet to be back in operation by tomorrow morning,” the company said.
“The flight schedule has been amended for today and we are working tirelessly to normalise the schedule and minimise disruption for our customers.”
“At of 10:15 this morning a third of Comair’s services have been affected due to the notice received from the SACAA.
We are continuously updating our contingency plans and communicating with our customers by SMS, however to avoid unnecessary frustration, customers can check revised departure times on kulula.com, ba.com or Comair.co.za.”
They said they were actively working with SAAT and SACAA to find a speedy solution.
Some passengers who booked on flights operated by Comair experienced disruptions on Tuesday, following the grounding of several of Comair’s planes.
South African Airways (SAA) also had to recall some of its aircraft, pending compliance verification.
On Monday evening, the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) issued a notice related to irregular findings picked up during a recent audit of one of its maintenance and technical service providers, South African Airways Technical (SAAT).
Affected aircraft could not be flown until the necessary corrective action had been carried out, Comair said in an initial statement issued in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
It was reported that SAA aircraft underwent an oversight inspection by SACAA, which prompted the decision to recall its aircraft.
“Comair have contingency plans in place and aim to minimise any disruption to its operations. We will keep our customers updated. Customers can check their latest flight status on the relevant websites – ba.com and kulula.com. Comair customers with urgent inquiries can call 011 921 0222 for British Airways or 086 158 5852 for kulula, or reach out to us via Kulula’s social media platforms.
“We do apologise to our customers for any inconvenience to their travel plans and appreciate their support. We are working closely with SAAT to rectify the findings and getting our flights back on schedule as soon as possible.
“Comair is committed to providing a safe, secure, reliable and quality airline service to its customers. The safety and security of our customers and personnel is our foremost priority and is never compromised. We maintain an IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) accreditation, ensuring the implementation of global best practice in operational safety.
“The company is also audited by British Airways International, the Boeing Company as well as the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA),” Comair stated.
Re-accommodated Comair flights:
kulula.com:
MN504 DUR – HLA, originally scheduled for 06h15, has been re-accommodated to MN594 departing at 07h55
British Airways (Operated by Comair):
BA6400 CPT – JNB, originally scheduled for 06h00, has been re-accommodated to BA6424 departing at 06h45
BA6441 JNB – CPT, originally scheduled for 06h05, has been re-accommodated to BA6401 departing at 07h00
BA6200 DUR – JNB, originally scheduled for 06h25, has been re-accommodated to BA6202 departing at 08h50
BA6232 PLZ – JNB, originally scheduled for 06h35, has been re-accommodated to BA6248 departing at 08h25
BA6406 CPT – JNB, originally scheduled for 09h00, has been re-accommodated to BA6410 departing at 09h50
BA6413 JNB – CPT, originally scheduled for 09h25, has been re-accommodated to BA6409 departing at 10h35
BA6414 CPT – JNB, originally scheduled for 12h20, has been re-accommodated to BA6412 departing at 13h25
SAA’s amended schedule:
“Whilst there were only four (4) domestic flight cancellations, SAA took steps to combine flights and deploy bigger aircraft to accommodate affected passengers. This has significantly reduced the impact of the inconvenience on the customers,” the airline said in a statement on Tuesday morning.
Updates to follow as more information is made available.
Additional reporting by Nica Schreuder
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