Noting that the safety of passengers was paramount in the aviation business, South Africa’s Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula on Wednesday welcomed the corrective action plan that South African Airways has submitted to the government as proof of this commitment.
The plan, according to the SAA, was aimed at addressing the irregularities that led to the grounding of a number of aircraft on Tuesday.
During the grounding, the SAA operated an amended flight schedule following a decision to recall some of its aircraft to undertake compliance verification in line with South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) requirements.
Mbalula told journalists on Wednesday that the grounding of the aircraft was a necessary precautionary measure as the safety of the people was paramount.
“Airlines have a duty to their customers to ensure that the aircraft that are in service meet the safety standards.
“We are therefore pleased that SAA Technical Section has since submitted a corrective action plan aimed at addressing the irregularities. The corrective action plan submitted was found to be acceptable by the SACAA,” Mbalula said.
The minister revealed that his ministry was informed by SACAA that following the sampling of a few aircraft, a number of SAA aircraft were “subsequently issued with a prohibition order, meaning that these could not operate until they had addressed the non-compliances.”
SAA Technical Section maintains aircraft on behalf of a number of airlines, which include SAA, Mango and Comair/British Airways.
NM/jn/APA