Member of Parliament stranded at airport as SA Express is grounded

MP Nqabayomzi Kwankwa became one of the first passengers to be stuck in transit as a result of the SA Express airline being grounded due to safety concerns.

"We are now stranded at the airport without any explanation from SAExpress Management‚" he tweeted.

And in a Facebook post‚ he added: "Things are falling apart - the centre cannot hold."

When the reason for the cancellation of flights became clear‚ the United Democratic Movement (UDM) Chief Whip in Parliament commented: "#SAExpressGounded - I must say that some of us who sit in the PC on Public Enterprises saw this coming."

In mid-April‚ SA Express executives appeared before parliament’s select committee on public accounts (Scopa).

Scopa members expressed concern about the lateness and quality of SAX’s financial statements‚ which contained material misstatements‚ and their failure to meet nearly half their targets.

Earlier on Saturday‚ the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) announced it had suspended SA Express’ Air Operator Certificate‚ with immediate effect‚ due to concerns over serious safety hazards that pose a risk to the crew‚ passengers‚ and the public.

“It is critical to note that this suspension is precautionary and taken in the interest of safety and preventing incidents that can be catastrophic‚” the aviation authority said of the SAX grounding.

A statement by the aviation authority – in which it highlighted the need for safety above profit - said the suspension follows a series of non-compliances and the SACAA’s dissatisfaction with the operator’s safety monitoring systems‚ which are meant to monitor and address any safety deficiencies.

The Regulator also found the operator’s proposed corrective action plan inadequate “as it does not satisfactorily address the findings raised”.

SA Express (SAX) has the right to appeal the decision with the Director of Civil Aviation within 30 days. It is a domestic and regional‚ passenger and cargo carrier established on 24 April 1994.