Kimberley - SA Express on Thursday “sincerely apologised to customers” for the cancellation of flight SA 1102 from Kimberley to Johannesburg earlier this week.
Kimberley passengers flying to Johannesburg were delayed on Wednesday when their SA Express flight was grounded after the pilot was apparently unable to start the engines.
SA Express confirmed that its flight, SA1102, which was scheduled to leave Kimberley at 7.35am for Johannesburg on Wednesday was initially delayed and later cancelled due to a “technical glitch”.
A spokesperson for the airline said yesterday that SA Express technicians had since attended to the glitch, with all scheduled services between Kimberley and Johannesburg running normally as from on Thursday.
“We apologise sincerely to all our customers who were inconvenienced by the delay and the subsequent cancellation of this flight. The disruption was regrettable but unavoidable as SA Express takes the safety of its passengers and the rigorous maintenance of its aircraft exceedingly seriously. This way our customers can always sit back and enjoy our hospitality as we fly them to their destinations, completely confident that they are in very good hands,” the spokesperson said.
The airline also said that all its aircraft undergo exacting maintenance and check-ups on a daily basis, revealing further that the aircraft that had experienced technical problems in Kimberley on Wednesday had been given a clean bill of health earlier in the day.
“At SA Express, even slight technical glitches that are ordinarily allowable by original equipment manufacturers are taken very seriously. This means that the airline will not allow aircraft with such slight glitches to operate, which sometimes leads to temporary but necessary precautionary disruptions to our schedules.
“In the rare event of a cancellation of a flight, in such cases we will endeavour to accommodate passengers on the next flight, and where this is not possible, make arrangements to refund the affected ticket holders.”