Airlines grounded in SA: These flights have been cancelled on Tuesday

There is abject chaos at airports across South Africa, as four major airlines have been affected by technical issues on Tuesday 22 October. There are delays, alterations and cancelled flights at our busiest airports.

Why are airlines cancelling flights in South Africa?

Comair Limited – which serves as the South African operator for British Airways and Kulula – released a statement early on Tuesday morning, warning passengers of delays affecting domestic routes. According to Comair, planes were grounded on Monday evening after South African Airways Technical (SAAT) released its finding of an audit.

In the wake of the report, the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) issued a notice relating to “irregular findings” – effectively halting Kulula and British Airways operations. “Corrective action” is currently underway to fix these issues, continuing a tough month for the aviation industry in Mzansi.

Kulula, Mango, BA and SAA all affected

On Monday, domestic carrier FlySafair were forced to respond to claims relating to one of their planes enduring a “multiple systems failure” shortly after takeoff from OR Tambo. Although officials have downplayed the severity of the incident, the 136 people on board were indebted to their quick-thinking pilots who managed to get the flight back on the ground.

Furthermore, it was revealed at the start of October that a Mango Airlines flight had gone into a “mid-air nosedive”, due to its supplier attaching faulty parts to certain aircrafts. The criminal negligence is still being looked into, and Tuesday’s flight chaos is thought to be as a result of the investigation’s scope widening. Mango, along with Comair and SAA, are also impacted by the SAAT’s safety measures today:

“As safety is our primary concern, we were working with SAA Technical throughout the night to rectify these findings and are confident that we will have aircraft that are safe and ready for service during the course of today. However, as the process is not yet concluded, this means some delays will be experienced throughout the day.”

“Mango Airlines has activated contingency plans in order to minimise disruption during the course of today and ensure our Guests reach their destinations safely. We will continue to update affected Guests via SMS and will publish updated schedules on our social media platforms.”

Mango Airlines statement

SAA: Which flights have been cancelled in South Africa on Tuesday 22 October?

• SA 313, JNB – CPT: Originally scheduled for 8:35 – now cancelled. Passengers moved to flight SA 317, delayed an hour to 10:10.
• SA 326, CPT – JNB: Originally scheduled for 11:25 – now cancelled. Passengers moved to flight SA 332, delayed 20 minutes to 12:20.
• SA 543, JNB – DUR: Originally scheduled for 9:35 – now cancelled.
• SA 550, DUR – JNB: Originally scheduled for 11:10 – now cancelled.

Flight delays in South Africa with British Airways and Mango

Meanwhile, British Airways and Mango also have a backlog of delayed flights to contend with on the Johannesburg – Cape Town routes, including:

• BA 6406, CPT – JNB: Originally scheduled for 9:00. Re-accommodated to BA 6410, departing at 9:50.
• BA 6413, JNB – CPT: Originally scheduled for 9:25. Re-accommodated to BA 6409, departing at 10:35.
• BA 6414, CPT – JNB: Originally scheduled for 12:20. Re-accommodated to BA 6412 departing at 13:25..
• JE 575 (Mango), Lanseria – Port Elizabeth: Originally scheduled for 08.40. Now departing at 11.20.
• JE 245 (Mango), JNB – DUR: Originally scheduled fr 11:13. Now departing at 12:45.

@FlyMangoSA Mango apologizes for a delay on flight JE245.The estimated time of departure is 11:13. Check-in counters will close at 10:33. why has it been delayed?

— Sinomtha Sogoni (@cnosnow1) October 22, 2019