About 40% of SA’s aviation capacity screeched to a halt at the weekend when the SA Civil Aviation Authority (Sacaa) suspended Comair’s air operation certificate for safety reasons.
Comair, which operates budget airline Kulula and the local British Airways franchise, described the move as unjustified. Tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu expressed concern around the far-reaching implications of the indefinite suspension, warning that the impact on the already crippled tourism and hospitality industry could be dire. There are many factors to keep in mind, but it goes without saying that the safety of passengers should come first.
Sacaa’s weekend announcement caused chaos, leaving Kulula and BA ticket holders in a “world of pain”, as consumer journalist Wendy Knowler reported. Air ticket prices are soaring. Only on Monday afternoon did Comair do an about-turn on Kulula’s policy not allowing for a refund or compensation incurred by the suspension, saying customers would now receive a full credit in their Travelbank. Perhaps there is something to be read in its initial handling of the situation — was supporting its customers top priority when its aircraft were grounded? Some would follow that up with another question: were its customers top of mind when it came to the strict adherence of safety regulations?
Comair insists it has supplied Sacaa with the required documentation to halt the 24-hour suspension, but the aviation authority has responded by making the suspension indefinite. The economic impact of this development will still be felt for a long time to come. An aviation expert told Business Day Sacaa could have grounded only the affected aircraft and not the entire fleet. Now an airline, already in business rescue and battered by the Covid-19 pandemic, is facing even deeper financial woes. Those paying for this include its employees and its out-of-ticket and out-of-pocket customers.
The fact remains, two Kulula flights recently experienced “engine-related” problems. A Kulula flight was diverted from Lanseria airport, north of Johannesburg, to OR Tambo airport, which is east of the city, because of an “engine-related issue”. The airline said in a statement that “at no time were our passengers and crew at risk”, adding: “We are conducting a thorough investigation on the aircraft.” The vagueness in that statement is enough to make even the most frequent of flyers think twice before getting onto one of its planes. Considering this happened just three weeks after another engine problem on the same route — on a different aircraft — no one would be blamed for assuming there is a bigger problem here.
The National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) has called for the removal of Comair CEO Glenn Orsmond, saying it has zero faith in a management team “putting profits over people and people’s livelihoods”. Sacaa has asked for the time and space to complete its work before allowing Comair to restart its operations. Comair has shared very little information with the public on what exactly went wrong those two flights were, so South Africans have to put their trust in Sacaa to keep our airspace safe. But Sacaa also needs to act responsibly and speedily and be mindful that this could be the beginning of the end of a competitive aviation industry.
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