Kulula.com Boeing 737 800 (Supplied)
The SA Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) has suspended kulula.com and British Airways flights, both operated by Comair, for the next 24 hours.
Comair issued a notice of the suspension on kulula.com’s website and Twitter account on Saturday.
Comair did not give reasons for the suspension but said its executive team is engaging with the SACAA on the matter.
“Comair believes there is no justification for the suspension,” the notice read.
Comair regrets that our flights have been suspended by the CAA for 24 hours. This will affect both British Airways (operated by Comair) as well as https://t.co/cK3xAJazYb.
— kulula (@kulula) March 12, 2022
In a statement issued by the SACAA, it said that the suspension follows an investigation into the “recent spate of safety incidents” at the operator.
“This is a precautionary suspension for a period of 24 hours, within which the operator must demonstrate to the regulator that the risk and safety management systems are effective in managing potential hazards,” SACAA said.
In February, kulula.com forced a flight from Lanseria to Cape Town to divert to OR Tambo International over an engine-related problem, Fin24 previously reported.
According to SACAA, Comair operations experienced several issues in the past month, such as engine failures, engine malfunction, and landing gear malfunctions.
In an emailed response to questions from Fin24, Comair noted that three different flights were diverted for different reasons over the past three months. “We must however, put this in perspective, it is a very small percentage of all the flights we operate,” Comair said.
Safety is our priority, every incident is reported and thoroughly investigated.
– Comair
SACAA said its investigation sought to determine if Comair complies with Civil Aviation Regulations. The inspection also aimed to review…
