Grounded airline SA Express said on Sunday it was awaiting a decision by the South African Civil Aviation Authority’s (SACAA) to reinstate its licence. The airline was forced to cancel flights on Saturday‚ leaving thousands of passengers stranded at airports across the country‚ after the SACAA temporarily suspended its Air Operator’s Certificate‚ citing safety concerns. The aviation authority said it had suspended all SA Express Flights as a precaution to prevent potentially “catastrophic” incidents.Passengers stranded for hours after SA Express groundedA passenger has told of how passengers of grounded airline SA Express were already checked in for a flight from Cape Town to East London and were still stranded hours later while they waited to hear whether they would be offered alternative flights or refunds. SA Express said on Sunday that following the suspension its executive management team had met with SACAA to obtain clarity on its audit related concerns and procedural issues that needed to be adhered to.“Following the meeting‚ we now understand SACAA’s requirements clearly and were able to respond accordingly. I thank our team members who have addressed each individual concern conscientiously and worked throughout the night to submit the correct and required paperwork to comply with the SACAA’s procedural requirements‚” said Inati Ntshanga‚ CEO of SA Express.“Since the first day we started operations in 1994‚ safety has always been our utmost priority and a business imperative that has never been negotiable. We have had an impeccable safety record for the past 22 years so when we received the notice for suspension‚ we were absolutely devastated but I can assure you that we are doing our utmost to set the record straight today.”Ntshanga said the SACAA has given SA Express an undertaking that it had received the revised documentation and would verify that all outstanding issues had been resolved.Once all SACAA’s requirements had been met‚ SA Express would legally obtain its licence to operate again.“We are hoping to have this matter resolved before close of business today and I cannot stress enough how sincerely apologetic we are that our operational issues have caused our passengers and stakeholders such inconvenience. We humbly apologise for the aggravation‚ the trouble and the disruption that we were responsible for and we thank our passengers for their support and understanding.“I assure them that the SA Express team and I will do everything in our power to make it up to them and to win back their confidence as South Africa’s best regional airline‚” Ntshanga added.“However‚ while we wait for the AOC to be reinstated‚ we can confirm that we have made the necessary arrangements to accommodate all our passengers on alternate carriers.”Ntshanga advised passengers to speak to the airline’s check-in agents‚ consult the electronic passenger information boards for more information on their estimated time of departure or speak to SA Express call centre agents between 6am and 11pm on 011 978 2355‚ 011 978 6384 and 011 978 5096 or email the airline at customercare@flyexpress.aero...