South Africa's Civil Aviation Authority on Sunday banned British Airways franchisee Comair from operating commercial flights. Unsolved security problems were given as the reason. The connections offered under the Kulula brand are also affected.
Initially, a 24-hour flight ban was imposed, but Comair was unable to dispel the authority's concerns within the deadline set. A spokesman has now confirmed that the operator's certificate has been suspended indefinitely, meaning this carrier's aircraft will be grounded pending a possible lifting.
On Saturday, the SACAA justified the 24-hour flight ban, among other things, with the fact that Comair reportedly had “engine failures, engine malfunctions and landing gear malfunctions” with conspicuity in February 2022. The supervisory authority took a closer look at the carrier and, according to their own statements, found what they were looking for: Three so-called "Level 1" violations were found. These would pose an immediate safety risk, which is why the drastic measure of a flight ban was taken. According to the authority, Comair was unable to resolve the concerns within the set period, so that the AOC and the operating license were suspended indefinitely.
Comair uses the British Airways brand under a franchise agreement, so many aircraft are liveried in the colors of the IAG subsidiary. Furthermore, the Kulula is also active as a low-cost airline. The carrier was badly hit by the corona pandemic and is considered to be badly hit financially. The company confirmed that AOC and its operating license have been suspended indefinitely, but cannot say when it will resume operations.
They worked all night to submit the necessary documentation to the South African Civil Aviation Authority. However, these were obviously not sufficient. CEO Glenn Orsmond is quoted as saying in a media statement: "This is a major blow to our customers, employees and the flying public as it takes 40 percent of capacity off the market."
The Airports Company SA has now organized charter flights in order to be able to bring stranded passengers to their destination as far as possible. These are mainly used on Comair's main route between Johannesburg and Cape Town.