Johannesburg – SA Express on Monday confirmed that it will resume flying from Tuesday, May 3, following its temporary 42-hour suspension by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) for issues related to the airline’s quality assurance systems.
SA Express was grounded after it was served with a notice to suspend its Air Operator’s Certificate on Friday evening, which forced the airline to cancel flights on Saturday‚ leaving thousands of passengers stranded at airports across the country.
But on Sunday, SA Express’ executive management team and SACAA held a meeting, and agreement was reached after clarity was provided in terms of the audit related concerns and procedural issues that the airline needed to adhere to.
Inati Ntshanga, chief executive of SA Express, in a statement said it was regrettable that discrepancies in the submission of procedural paperwork and submission processes between SA Express and SACAA did not correspond.
“Following extensive consultations and revised documentation as well as submission procedures, our operating license has been reinstated and we will resume our normal operating schedule by 19:00 this evening,” Ntshanga said.
“We assure the general public that this matter has been substantially addressed and will never occur again.”
Ntshanga added that SA Express’ safety record was of the “highest possible standard”.
The chief executive apologised to SA Express passengers, staff and stakeholders for the inconvenience that the “miscommunication between the relevant authorities caused over the past two days”.
“We understand that because of procedural issues we have inadvertently let our passengers down. I assure you that my team and I will do everything possible to rebuild that service promise and to restore your faith and confidence in SA Express,” Ntshanga said.
African News Agency