WATCH | Six telling quotes from Fikile Mbalula on delayed flights & grounded planes - 'safety first'

Transport minister Fikile Mbalula on Tuesday held a news briefing to address concerns raised after SAA and Comair grounded some of their flights on Tuesday. The SA Civil Aviation Authority (Sacaa) said it had noted some irregularities found during a safety audit of SAA Technical, which provides maintenance for the airlines.

Tourism won't suffer 

“Tourism will not be affected because the airlines will be back on speed and everything will be back to normal. SAA in particular has developed an action plan which has been accepted by Sacaa in terms of  addressing some of the challenges that have been raised with them.”

It's no crisis 

“This is not a crisis. It's not the first time that planes have been grounded for different reasons. This happens all the time, you would have seen a particular airline was grounded for a period of time and has found its way back into action after addressing some of the challenges the airline was faced with.”

Airlines are always on check

“The regulator does its job in terms of keeping the airlines on check about operational issues and recommendations are made because the regulator has to maintain its position to ensure the safety of our people. SA has a very clean record when it comes to safety and we pride ourselves in that.”

The report must be heeded

“The report has been taken seriously and in this particular instance that is why action has been taken, because if the regulator turns a blind eye to what has been reported it will be irregular on their part not to act decisively on the report.”

Airlines are acting on precaution 

“Before [the] end of the week, everything will be back to normal, in fact there is minimal interruption of airlines. The most important thing is if you provide a service to people, you must be able to explain. This is not a total shut down, it's not a crisis. Airlines are acting on the part of precaution and it's all in the best interests of the citizens.”

SA is beyond capable

“South African Airways is held in high esteem. We have won awards because of our capabilities. In terms of monitoring the operators, we have the best capacity. Our capabilities are beyond question.”