FLYING BLIND
Airline grounded after serious safety concerns revealed
THOUSANDS of passengers were stranded yesterday as stateowned airline South African Express was grounded by the Civil Aviation Authority, which warned of “serious safety hazards” to passengers and crew.
This is another blow to the image of South Africa’s ailing state enterprises — especially in the airline sector — which have been mired in crisis for several years.
Passengers scrambled to make new arrangements at airports across Southern Africa to reach their destinations.
The Civil Aviation Authority said it had suspended all SA Express flights as a precaution to prevent potentially “catastrophic” incidents.
The regulator said the carrier’s safety systems posed “serious safety hazards and risks to the crew, passengers, and the public”.
“The regulator cannot allow the operator to continue with operations until such time that the identified safety concerns are adequately addressed,” said Kabelo Ledwaba, a spokesman for the authority.
The announcement sparked panic at the airline as well as at its sister company South African Airways and privately owned South African Airlink.
Late yesterday, all three airlines were still trying to find alternative flights for the stranded passengers.
The airline did not say how many passengers were affected, but it annually runs 37 287 flights across 29 cities, including in five Southern African Development Community countries.
Last year it reported carrying an average of 4 000 passengers a day.
According to the regulator, a recent inspection of SA Express’s equipment found that safety systems had been unable to pick up problems in the system.
“Every time an aircraft is prepared for a flight the airline must give a guarantee that it is airworthy.
“We could not trust that, and that is why we have suspended their flights,” according to the aviation authority’s executive for aviation safety, Simon Segwabe.
He said the most recent inspection of SA Express, on April 19, had been prompted by the malfunctioning of an aircraft’s flight computer mid-flight.
“The pilot relayed this information to the tower, who then, through Air Traffic Navigation Systems, had to inform us.
Segwabe said: “Fortunately, the backup system was able to kick in.”
Segwabe said there were several such safety occurrences involving SA Express, which had prompted the inspection.
The malfunctioning of an aircraft’s flight-management system software could mean that some of its controls would no longer function. Such a malfunction would cause pilots to “fly blind”, one of the greatest fears in the industry.
The investigation conducted last week found that the airline’s safety monitoring systems were unable to report deficiencies — something the airline has been guilty of on more than one occasion.
The situation has shocked many airline industry executives, with one describing it as a crisis. “There’s quite possibly no coming back from this. It’s massive: imagine the amount of revenue they stand to lose on a long weekend,” said a senior executive at another state airline.
SA Express had been given until Friday to provide a plan to address the deficiencies, but its plan failed to satisfy the regulator. The two parties met again yesterday.
SA Express CEO Inati Ntshanga said late yesterday that in 22 years, the airline had an impeccable safety record. He said the airline took the CAA concerns “very seriously”.
SAA spokesman Tlali Tlali said the airline was assisting by accommodating SA Express passengers.
Among the frustrated SA Express passengers at OR Tambo International Airport was DJ Mobi Dixon, who had been due to perform in Kimberley.
“It’s really s **** y, man,” said Dixon, who was to be the main act at the Sol Plaatje University’s freshers ball last night.
Other grounded passengers had been travelling for more than 24 hours.
“I left South Dakota on Thursday morning,” said Jan de Klerk, a Ficksburg detective who had visited his son in the US.
“I was here at 10 past seven this morning, but when I went to board, I was told there’s been a delay and they’ve just kept
pushing it further,” he said.
One passenger who did not want to be named said he had been made to pay an excess luggage fee of R622 before being told his flight was indefinitely delayed.
Passengers were also told to fetch their off-loaded luggage at the boarding gates.
At about 3pm, passengers were still being checked in, with flight departure boards merely stating an “indefinite delay”. Staff at the SA Express boarding counter declined to comment. One member of staff said they “were not sure what is happening”.
One passenger due to fly at 8am was sent an SMS at 8.06am by the airline, stating that her flight had been delayed and advising her to “please report to the SA Express service desk” for further assistance.
However, Barbara Grobler, 68, said she had received no communication before her 1.50pm flight.
“They never let me know. I only found out on arrival. They are apparently going to book us on another airline, but nothing has been confirmed yet.”
Grobler arrived from Australia on Friday night and was due to fly to Bloemfontein and then travel to Bethulie, 160km away.
Passengers had not been told the reason for the delays, but had been issued meal vouchers of R80 for breakfast and R120 for lunch.
The DA spokeswoman on public enterprises, Natasha Mazzone, said it was an “incredibly serious situation” when an airline was grounded.
An SAA insider said the crisis pointed to financial problems that could be affecting safety and operations.
The airline, which is under the care of Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown, owes SAA’s technical division more than R10-million in aircraft service charges.
The latest incident would make SA Express’s financial position even more precarious.
“I have noted the decision by the Civil Aviation Authority to temporarily suspend SA Express’ air operator certificate,” Brown said yesterday.
“I am providing all the necessary support to the management of SA Express to resolve this matter. Therefore I have tasked the department’s director-general, Mogokare Seleke, to lead talks with the CAA to resolve this matter,” she said.
She said the suspension was massive, not only for SA Express but for sister airline SAA, because the two, although separate entities, shared the same corporate identity and branding.
Brown apologised to passengers, saying they should consult SAX’s website, flyexpress.aero, for measures the airline had put in place to deal with inquiries. —