Skywise airline suspended, passengers left stranded

02 December 2015 - 11:20 By TMG Digital

Skywise passengers were left stranded on Wednesday morning after its flights were grounded indefinitely by the Airports Company of South Africa‚ a day after it was set to double its “fleet of one Boeing”. Skywise passengers were left stranded on Wednesday morning after its flights were grounded indefinitely by the Airports Company of South Africa (Acsa)‚ a day after it was set to double its “fleet of one Boeing”.Some took to social media to say they could get no information from the airline about the status of their flights.Attempts to get hold of the airline for official comment at the time of publication proved fruitless‚ although an unnamed official in the Cape Town sales office told TMG Digital that “all flights are cancelled until further notice”.When asked why‚ the official said it was “due to a payment dispute with Acsa”‚ and referred further queries to its Johannesburg corporate office. Calls to this number went unanswered.Asca could also not be reached for comment.The Skywise Airline Twitter account - @SkywiseAirline - made no mention of the delays‚ with its last tweet ‏on Tuesday making a offer: “Fly unlimited between Jhb & CPT Plug into the fun&share wise moments with your loved ones”.The budget airline has been beset by problems‚ and fears about it future emerged last month after another flight was cancelled.Skywise co-chair Tabassum Qadir at the time moved quickly to dispel this: “Nothing has changed‚ we are operating the same flight schedule as updated on October 20.”On that date‚ the airline reduced the number of its daily flights flights from eight to six when its flights where grounded over a payment dispute with the Airports Company South Africa and Air Traffic and Navigation Systems.The November cancellation stemmed from a “technical issue with an aircraft that led to a dispute with one of our lessors”‚ Qadir said.But‚ Skywise said it was set to double its “fleet of one Boeing 737” and this will be introduced on December 1.“Our sales are positive. We are running a successful promotion which is having a positive impact on our load factors‚” Qadir said.She said the new Park Station sales office “is a positive step which enables Skywise to continue to grow the previously unflown market”.“Getting people who travel by road from Park Station to Cape Town aims to expose this particular market to the airline's affordable air fares in the long term‚” she explained.“Skywise is here for the long haul‚ and we’re confident that it can be achieved if we get the get the continued support and your faith in the airline and that you continue to work with us to make Skywise a stronger healthier airline that is able to weather any storm that may arise in the decades to come.” What recourse do you have, as a consumer? Click here to find out..

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