Question NW2551 to the Minister of Transport

Reply:

(a) As part of its mandate to uphold aviation safety and security, the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) routinely conducts ramp inspections on aircraft operating into and within the South African air space.

On the evening of Friday, 18 August 2017, one of the aircraft inspected was a Boeing 767-200 operated by Air Zimbabwe. The inspection conducted by SACAA personnel discovered that the operator, Air Zimbabwe, was not complaint with both international civil aviation standards, and Part 129 of the South African civil aviation regulations. Part 129, among others, requires an operator to be in possession of a Foreign Operator’s Permit in order to conduct operations into South Africa. A copy of the Foreign Operator’s Permit, together with other documents, must be on-board an aircraft at all times, and made available for inspection on request by the relevant authorities.

As a result of the inability of the Air Zimbabwe flight crew to produce a copy of the Foreign Operator’s Permit, the SACAA instructed the crew not to take off until such time that there is full compliance with Part 129 of the South African civil aviation regulations.

The airline resumed operations as soon as they were issued with a Foreign Operator’s Permit.

(b) The SACAA was informed by South African Airways (SAA) that its operations were affected on 19 August 2017 when the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) instructed the SAA flight crew not to take off until such time that there was full compliance with the applicable Zimbabwean civil aviation regulations. It was established that, SAA, just like Air Zimbabwe was not in possession of a Foreign Operator’s Permit that would allow them to operate commercially in the Zimbabwe airspace.

Both airlines resumed operations as soon as they were respectively issued with Foreign Operator’s Permits.