Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu concerned by impact of Comair aircraft grounding, urges travel safety to lift tourism

Minister of Tourism Lindiwe Sisulu has expressed concern with regards to the grounding of all Comair airline flights indefinitely.

On March 12th the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) announced the suspension of Comair’s Air Operation Certificate (AOC) as a result of a number of incident-related occurrences. The airline’s AOC was initially suspended for 24 hours until SACAA said that it was suspending it indefinitely.

This has left thousands of passengers stranded until a decision is made by the SACAA.

Comair flights equates to about 40% of the country’s aviation capacity. Comair operates the budget airline Kulula.com and the local British Airways franchise.

“This comes at a bad time as families are preparing for school holidays and holidaymakers are planning for Easter holiday getaways. However, our main concern is the effect this will have on greater tourism and the entire hospitality value chain, but not at the expense of air travel safety,” Minister Sisulu said.

Sisulu also raised concern at the increase in airfares on domestic routes following the SACCA announcement.

“I would like the issues between Comair and SACAA to be resolved soon, as the tourism industry cannot afford any further discouragements,” said Sisulu.

Source: Government of South Africa