FlySafair defends safety measures after passengers frustrated due to multiple flight delays

FlySafair has defended its handling of several flight delays that left passengers stranded and frustrated.

In a statement to TimesLIVE on Thursday, FlySafair COO Kirby Gordon said one of those involved flight FA112 from Cape Town to Johannesburg, scheduled to land at 1.50pm on Wednesday.

“We reviewed the details carefully with our operations team. Before departure, a technical indication was picked up during pre-flight checks.

“In line with our strict safety protocols, the aircraft returned to the bay for engineering support,” Gordon said.

Gordon said after a second return to the parking bay, the airline decided to switch to another aircraft.

“At no point did the flight take off and then turn back mid-air. The flight unfortunately departed much later in the afternoon and landed in Johannesburg that evening,” he said.

Despite these assurances, passengers expressed frustration over the handling of the situation.

One of the passengers onboard was South African Motswako rapper Khuli Chana’s daughter, who was travelling unaccompanied.

Lamiez Holworthy, Chana’s wife who was at Johannesburg airport to fetch her stepdaughter, took to social media to voice her concerns.

“FlySafair you need to explain to my boys who were waiting at the airport for their sister,” Holworthy wrote.

She described the confusion and lack of communication during the day saying the 12-year-old “had no staff to guide her as an unaccompanied minor – no care, no accountability”.

Holworthy explained that her stepdaughter’s flight was first delayed then rebooked for 3.10pm which was also grounded due to a technical fault.

“I’ve had to book a whole new flight with a different airline because what do you mean she must get on a third flight when FlySafair has had faulty aircraft all day?” she said.

Gordon responded to concerns about unaccompanied minors noting that FlySafair’s dedicated unaccompanied minor service is available for children aged 5–11 and must be pre-booked for additional support at R750 per flight segment.

“Children aged 12 and older are booked as adult passengers unless additional assistance is specifically requested. In this case, the passenger was booked as an adult traveller and the unaccompanied minor service was not added,” he said.

The airline said it communicated regularly with passengers sending “10 separate passenger communications throughout the day including updated departure times, apologies, meal voucher notifications and boarding messages.”

This was not the only flight. Others were affected as well such as flight FA298 from Johannesburg to Cape Town scheduled for 7.15am which experienced technical issues identified before boarding.

“Repairs were completed, and the flight departed at 13:34 (1.34pm) once it was safe to do so. The aircraft was returned to service later in the day,” said Gordon.

“Delays, especially lengthy ones, are upsetting, and even more so when children are travelling. But we want to assure passengers that the decisions taken were grounded in a commitment to safety first, which is something we will never compromise on,” he said.

This is not the first time the airline has been in the headlines. In July FlySafair pilots went on strike over pay and working conditions.

FlySafair has also experienced technical problems with its check-in and baggage sorting systems causing further delays and frustration among passengers.

Though the airline states that these issues have been resolved, social media users continue to share their frustration over disrupted travel plans and perceived lapses in communication.