The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) confirmed on Wednesday, 23 March that it has suspended Lufthansa Technik, one of the Aircraft Maintenance Organisations (AMO) that maintains the fleet of Comair’s planes.
According to the Aviation Authority, the suspension follows a four-day audit that started on 15 March following a spate of incidents taking place from February 2022.
The Aviation Authority said in a statement that during the safety oversight visit to Lufthansa Technik’s quality control management system and safety management systems which were subjected to a review it raised four Level 1 findings with AMO.
“A Level 1 finding poses an immediate risk to users of civil aviation services and such findings must be closed immediately. The evidence was found to be satisfactory in relation to two of the Level 1 findings.
“This means that two other Level 1 findings could not be closed within the stipulated time. It is for this reason that the SACAA handed a 24-hour precautionary suspension,” SACAA said.
Also read: Comair suspends flights until July 30
The Aviation Authority further indicated that the AMO had both a quality management system and safety management system in place however both were not implemented as per the Civil Aviation Regulations and the requisite manuals.
“The operator is required to submit further evidence to close the gaps identified by the Regulator within this period failing which the Regulator will indefinitely suspend the approval of the AMO until such findings are sufficiently closed,” SACAA indicated.
Meanwhile, Kulula.com announced that it will be offering refunds to irate customers. This comes after the airline promised to keep passengers informed via social media. However, delays were prominent.
“Our Contact Centre is dealing with higher-than-usual volumes. We apologise for the communication delays. Our team is working around the clock to resolve your enquiry within 20 days, “Kulula said.
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