adminJohannesburg — Eleven aircraft of British Airways (BA) have been flying with components that should have been replaced in August last year.
Rapport reported yesterday that the Civil Aviation Authority ordered on Friday that these 11 Comair aircraft, the company that operates BA flights, as well as those of Kulula in South Africa, could not leave the apron before the components had been replaced.
The CAA report said that if the components in question, known as the spindle, cracked or was damaged in any way, it could lead to the pilot losing control over the aircraft.
Just five of these BA aircraft — the older Boeing 737-400s and Boeing 737-300s, had been scheduled to fly on Saturday.
Four of these planes — two from Cape Town and two from Durban — left the airports without any passengers on board en route to Johannesburg on Saturday so that the components could be replaced.
Marise Lerm, a spokesperson for Atmosphere Communications, which handles the media on behalf of Comair, said the group was able to accommodate all passengers on Kulula , which uses the Boeing 737-700s.
Comair emphasised that safety came first at all times and that there was never a question that any passenger or employee had been in danger.
Comair’s shares rose nearly 3 percent in March as the company returned to first-half profit, helped by cost-cuts, better ticket prices and new fuel-saving planes.
It said at the time that diluted headline earnings per share totalled 16.4c in the six months to end-December compared with 4.9c in headline loss per share a year earlier. — Fin24.
Online Reporter
derick.khumalo