Flight schedule back to normal: SAA

South African Airways (SAA) said on Thursday evening its flight schedule had returned to normal after several of its aircraft underwent a compliance verification process.

SAA spokesperson Tlali Tlali said 25 aircraft in the fleet were identified to undergo a process of verification by the SA Civil Aviation Authority (Sacaa).

“So far, 21 have undergone the compliance verification process resulting in an 84% completion rate of the identified aircraft. The remaining four are undergoing a scheduled extended maintenance service. Their absence will not affect the airline operations, as they were not included in the schedule to allow for routine maintenance,” he said.

SAA recalled its aircraft after an oversight inspection conducted by the Sacaa at its maintenance subsidiary South African Airways Technical (SAAT) and an audit on one aircraft operated by another carrier.

 “All flights are now operating on schedule,” said Tlali.

“The return to normal flight schedule was in place on Wednesday already as SAA’s average on-time performance was at 93% for domestic, regional and international flights and the airline operated all its flights,” said Tlali.