The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) has welcomed South African Airways’ (SAA) decision to ground two of its flights to and from Blantyre, Malawi as an “expected response from a responsible operator”.
The self-imposed sanction was the airline’s reaction to a Level 1 finding raised by SACAA following a base inspection of SAA operations in Malawi. SACAA spokesman, Kabelo Ledwaba, explained that a Level 1 finding could be described as “a severe non-compliance that poses serious safety risk and requires the licence-holder to adequately address the findings and failure of which necessitates immediate enforcement action by the regulator”.
He told FTW Online that the finding raised against the national carrier primarily related to the inadequacy of aviation infrastructure facilities and related emergency support services offered at Chileka International Airport, one of the two Malawian bases utilised by SAA
A statement on the flysaa website highlighted that whilst the Malawian airport authority continued to keep the airport open, the essential services at Chileka International Airport “were not fully compliant with minimum standards required for SAA to operate in line with its licensing conditions”.
SAA therefore took the decision to cancel two of its flights operating on Saturday and today (Monday) to and from Blantyre.
“SAA, in conjunction with the relevant authorities, will work on ensuring the airport meets the operational requirements set out in SAA's licensing conditions and to the satisfaction of its regulator, the South African Civil Aviation Authority,” said SAA spokesperson, Tlali Tlali.
According to Ledwaba, the cancellation of SAA’s Blantyre operations will remain in place until the findings raised by the SACAA have been adequately addressed and a follow up inspection regarding the findings has been conducted.
