- An audit is being done at SAA for the renewal of its Air Operator Certificate.
- The certificate is one of the requirements to be able to operate commercially.
- SAA has indicated recently that it hopes to take to the skies again in the third quarter of the year.
The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) is conducting an audit at South African Airways (SAA) for the renewal of a certificate allowing the airline to fly commercially.
SAA's current Air Operator Certificate (AOC) expires on 30 June 2021, according to SACAA.
An AOC is a certificate authorising an operator to carry out specified commercial air transport operations. It is the approval granted from a national aviation authority to an aircraft operator to allow it to use aircraft for commercial purposes. An AOC details the aircraft types that may be used, for what purpose and in what geographic region, according to Skybrary.
An important aspect of the AOC is that it is not transferable to any other entity.
Interim SAA CEO Thomas Kgokolothe as well as Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan have recently said they hope to relaunch SAA in the third quarter of this year.
"All air operator certificate holders are subjected to this audit annually before their approvals can be reissued. This renewal audit is still under way. Once the renewal audit is concluded, the operator will be furnished with a final audit report. It is up to the operator to share the contents of the report with the public," SACAA told Fin24 on Thursday.
"The SACAA never shares the details of its client engagements or reports with the public. The only time the regulator is compelled to communicate publicly is when there is a clear vacuum in terms of communicating decision(s) taken against an operator that may have negative implications for various stakeholders. Other than that, SACAA has no right to forego confidentiality agreements and obligations it has with all its clients."
Global standards
Aviation expert Linden Birns of Plane Talking explains that having an AOC is a requirement under the UN International Civil Aviation Organisation's (ICAO) global standards. This is reflected in South Africa's civil aviation regulations, which SACAA and other entities such as the Air Services Licensing Council are required to apply.
"The AOC ensures that aircraft are operated in a safe and proper manner and in compliance with all the relevant rules and regulations. An airline must, for example, demonstrate that it has adequate equipment, facilities and personnel to operate the proposed commercial air transport operation," says Birns.
"Furthermore, ground and flight crew must have the necessary training and planes must have the necessary safety equipment. The regulations also require that certain positions must be filled on a full-time basis, including that of CEO, head of flight operations, chief pilot, cabin crew manager and security manager. They must meet the necessary qualifications for the respective positions."
According to SACAA, the regulations make provision for the interim filling of a position.
SAA has indicated that it awaits the findings of the audit before it can comment.
Pilot deadlock
The issue of pilot training is vital for the airline to kick off operations again. Members of the SAA Pilots' Association, which represents nearly 90% of the pilots at SAA, have been locked out since 18 December last year and later went on strike to prevent scab labour – that is, workers hired to fill in for the absent union members – from being used by the airline.
The hiring of the replacement labour is not allowed in terms of a long-standing regulating agreement between the airline and SAAPA. The Labour Court has, however, found that the airline is allowed to engage replacement pilots and flight trainers during the strike.
The main issue for SAA regarding the deadlock with the SAAPA members, is a long-standing Regulating Agreement, which the airline's management and its shareholder the Department of Public Enterprises deem to be cumbersome and a hindrance in finding a strategic equity partner for the airline, since government has indicated it is unlikely to provide the airline with even more bailouts in future.
Central to SAAPA's demands were that SAA must agree that the Regulating Agreement should only be terminated on the date on which the last of its members leave the employ of SAA pursuant to a retrenchment process. SAA must also pay all its members who are to be retrenched three months' remuneration in lieu of notice.