Durban - DA MP Dianne Kohler Barnard was caught up in the chaos at Port Elizabeth Airport on Sunday afternoon after her SA Express flight had a six-and-a-half-hour delay owing to problems with its tyres.
Kohler Barnard was on her way back from the DA congress to elect new leadership.
She said the flight had been due to take off at 3.35pm and she had arrived at the airport at about 2.30pm.
The passengers checked in and boarded the plane.
“After nearly an hour, we were told to get off again. There was a problem with a wheel,” she said.
Kohler Barnard said the airport operators looked for a local mechanic to deal with the problem but could not find one. She was told they had to fly someone in from Johannesburg.
“While we were waiting, they also discovered there was a problem with another wheel,” she said.
She said they had no option but to wait. The next flight to Durban was to take off at 8pm and although it was also delayed for about an hour, it took off, leaving them, still stranded at the airport.
Kohler Barnard’s plane eventually took off at about 10pm.
She said a friend who was travelling on an SA Express flight from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town that day had told her their landing had been aborted on the first approach, but they eventually landed safely.
“Something went wrong and all the fire engines came out and escorted the plane in, but it was not clear what the problem was,” she said.
After posting comments about her experience on social media, Kohler Barnard said she had pilots contacting her saying the system of maintenance for SA Express planes was “in crisis mode”.
“These are the planes we were forced to catch. There were people who left the DA congress in PE and drove back to Durban. They got to Durban before I did. I finally drove into my property just before midnight.”
Kohler Barnard
questioned the maintenance of the planes and said that the maintenance schedule had to be be examined.
“We used to be among the best in the world and now two planes with problems at one airport within a couple of hours of each other, that cannot be possible. How long is it going to be before we have a serious plane crash?”
When approached for comment, SAA spokesman Tlali Tlali said: “SAX is a separate legal entity which does not form part of SAA Group.
“Based on this, it would be advisable to direct your enquiry to SAX for comment as we do not speak on their behalf. SAX is a separate state-owned airline.”
Contact numbers for SA Express communications officers published on their website were on voicemail and they did not respond to e-mails sent to them on Monday.
The Mercury