SA Express Grounded

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ian16th
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SA Express Grounded

#1 Post by ian16th » Thu May 24, 2018 1:55 pm

From African Pilot's breaking news: SA Express grounded

On Thursday 24 May the SACAA suspended SA Express’s Air Operator's Certificate (AoC) as well as the airline’s Aircraft Maintenance Organisation (AMO) approvals. In addition, the SACAA has also suspended the Certificates of Airworthiness (CoA) of nine (9) of the twenty-one (21) aircraft being operated by the airline. This effectively means that as Thursday, 24 May 2018, SA Express PTY (SOC) can no longer continue to operate as an airline. In order to be able to operate, SA Express will have to reapply and be issued with relevant approvals, i.e. an air operating certificate and an approval for the aircraft maintenance organisation, and certificates of airworthiness for the grounded aircraft.

Serious non-compliance uncovered
The decision to revoke the airline’s permits comes after the SACAA conducted an audit at the airline and its maintenance organisation in the past several days, which uncovered severe cases of non-compliance that pose serious safety risks. While the SACAA does not make the details of its audit findings public; it can be revealed that there were seventeen (17) findings, of which five (5) are categorised as Level 1 findings in civil aviation terms. A Level 1 category finding can be described as a ‘severe non-compliance or non-conformance that poses a very serious safety or security risk to the public and will necessitate the immediate exercising of the discretionary enforcement powers vested in the authorised persons, in the interests of safeguarding aviation safety or security’. The airline could not ensure that operational requirements and most importantly, safety obligations are met at all times. Therefore, the grounding of SA Express operations was inevitable, because in simpler terms the safety management system of the airline was found to be deficient.

“As the custodian of aviation safety and security in the country, the SACAA cannot turn a blind eye to any operation where there is overwhelming evidence that safety measures are compromised, because that automatically poses serious danger for the crew, passengers, and the public at large,” said Ms Poppy Khoza, who leads the SACAA as Director of Civil Aviation.

“The SACAA is fully aware and regrets the inconvenience and disruption this decision would have on passengers. However, it is equally important to note that decisions to revoke licences are naturally challenging but are necessary and in the interests of ensuring that the operator’s safety systems are beyond reproach and that its aircraft can take-off and land at the intended destinations relatively safely and incident-free,” Khoza explained.

Following this grounding, it is expected that the operator would make arrangements with the SACAA to fly all affected aircraft back to the home base. “The SACAA as the regulator implores all operators and licence-holders to uphold unquestionable levels of aviation safety and security at all times. Compliance to the applicable regulations is mandatory and should never be treated as an after-thought or an optional operational requirement. We should all work towards keeping our skies safe in order to preserve lives; and in the process maintain South Africa’s impeccable zero percent (0%) accident fatality record in the airline and scheduled operations sector, which has been standing for many years,” Khoza concluded.
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Cacophonix
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Re: SA Express Grounded

#2 Post by Cacophonix » Fri May 25, 2018 7:24 am

Not surprising and sad to hear, not least, because a couple of the posters at FlyAfrica.Info (now defunct), including the chief moderator there were pilots/Captains with SA Express.

In further news...
Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has announced that South African Airways (SAA), SA Express and Mango are to be merged.

Speaking at a media briefing on Thursday (24 May), he said that all three airlines currently fly to the same destinations.

“Bringing the airlines together and rationalising their routes and important. Rationalising the kind of aircraft needed at a particular time and day – that’s the experience we’re beginning to learn from airlines around the world,” he said.

“It’s that synergy and savings. Our net guess is that by putting the airlines together, we can go through a transition period where there are going to be difficulties.

“If you have something dysfunctional and (you) try to sell it, you will get little for it. The real challenge is putting the right people in the right places both on boards and management teams, and having the right oversight,” he said.
Gordhan also announced the appointment of a new SA Express board, chaired by Mmakeaya Magoro Tryphosa Ramano, which holds a mix of aviation experience, audit and accountancy backgrounds, among others.

Debt
According to National Treasury director-general Dondo Mogajane, South African Airways requires a R5 billion cash injection in the current financial year to help it meet its financial obligations.

However, he warned that the cash injection could not come from government as it has already pumped R20 billion into the state-owned enterprise.

Instead, other avenues are being considered to help cover the shortfall, with Mogajane saying that the National Treasury was willing to consider selling a stake in the airliner to a private equity partner.
https://businesstech.co.za/news/busines ... be-merged/

I wonder how long SAA (the real spectre at the feast of failure) and the relatively well managed Mango will survive this merger of rotten apples? Prizing the group out of the South African government's hands might be the saving of the enterprise but I don't hold out much hope of that coup being successfully pulled off.

Sad for all concerned because all three entities are like the proverbial curate's egg with areas of excellence hamstrung by appalling and kleptocratic government mismanagement.

Caco

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