- The South African Civil Aviation Authority
has ordered the indefinite suspension of Comair’s Kulula.com and British
Airways. - This stranded around 40% of all weekend air
travellers, with low-cost carrier FlySafair adding 10 additional flights to plug
the gap. - These flights didn’t come cheap, but every
single one was sold out. - And the cost of flying around South Africa is
expected to stay high, as demand outstrips supply. - Rising oil prices will also see an increase
in the cost of jet fuel, making air travel even more expensive. - For more stories go to
www.BusinessInsider.co.za.
Low-cost carrier FlySafair accommodated passengers left
stranded by Kulula.com and British Airways’ sudden suspension enforced by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA). But
flights aren’t cheap.
Comair, which operates by Kulula.com and British Airways in
South Africa, was slapped with a temporary suspension on Saturday. The
suspension, handed down by the SACAA because of the recent spate of safety
incidents at Comair, then became indefinite on Sunday.
The suspension stranded thousands of weekend travellers. Last-minute
cancellations threw airports across the country into disarray. Local low-cost
carrier FlySafair – one of the few airlines left operating with reach
throughout South Africa – was inundated with requests.
“This weekend’s groundings meant that almost 4 in every 10
passengers due to travel were left stranded,” said Kirby Gordon, FlySafair’s chief
marketing officer.
“Our fleet was fully deployed on the published schedule, so
it was challenging to add more capacity because we simply didn’t have spare
aircraft or crew to mobilise at this time.”
Utilising spare aircraft, FlySafair managed to increase its
seating capacity by introducing 10 additional flights. Not a single FlySafair
seat was left empty on Sunday.
Spare seats did not come cheap, thanks to the sudden surge
in demand from stranded Comair passengers,…
