The airline operates a fleet of Boeing 737s, which it flies
domestically, as well as to nearby countries. You can read my review of a
Comair business class flight here.
The decision to suspend Comair’s AOC came after an
investigation into a recent spate of safety incidents at the airline. This
precautionary suspension was initially for a period of 24 hours, and during
that time Comair was supposed to demonstrate that the risk and safety
management systems at the airline are effective in managing potential hazards.
Unfortunately the airline wasn’t fully able to do that, so operations have now
been suspended indefinitely.
It’s stated that in the past month alone, Comair has experienced
occurrences ranging from an engine failure, to an engine malfunction, to a
landing gear malfunction, among other issues.
What specifically caused Comair’s AOC to be suspended?
Regulators recently met up with Comair management to investigate and determine
if the airline is in compliance with Civil Aviation Regulations. Among other
things, regulators reviewed Comair’s quality control management systems and
safety management systems, to establish compliance related to reporting,
analysis, follow-up of incidents, and corrective action plans to prevent
recurrence.
The outcome of the investigation yielded:
Three “level 1 findings,” which is when a situation poses an
immediate risk and must be addressed immediately
One “level 2 finding,” which is when a situation must be
addressed within seven days
In the first 24 hours, Comair has been able to address one
of the “level 1 findings,” leaving three more concerns that have to be
addressed.
South African airline Comair has been forced to suspend
operations, as its Air Operator Certificate has been revoked. This comes after
multiple safety incidents in the past several weeks, and regulators not being
pleased with management’s systems in place for avoiding these incidents.
Comair’s AOC was initially only suspended for 24 hours, but
the suspension has now become indefinite, as management hasn’t been able to
address some of the concerns of regulators by today. While Comair is an
independent franchise, this isn’t a good look for British Airways either,
especially given that Comair planes feature the BA livery.