Cape Town – The National Union of Metalworkers South Africa (NUMSA) has reportedly called on Comair CEO Glenn Orsmond to resign after the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) announced the indefinite suspension of Comair’s air operator certificate (AOC) on Saturday due to safety concerns.
According to IOL, SACAA launched an investigation in response to Comair’s recent safety incidents.
SACAA said the incidents were extremely concerning.
One of the incidents involved a Kulula Boeing 737-800 that had engine trouble.
Another case in point was a British Airways flight that made an emergency landing at King Phalo Airport in the Eastern Cape due to gear failure, the report said.
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A Times Live report said that Comair’s certificate suspension resulted in the grounding of flights operated by its subsidiary, Kulula.com, as well as flights operated by the British Airways.
As a result, thousands of passengers were left stranded and irate after the aviation regulator first issued a 24-hour precautionary suspension of Comair’s air operator certificate on Saturday morning.
“This is a huge blow to our customers, employees and the flying public as it effectively takes 40% of the capacity out of the market,” AFP quoted Orsmond as saying.
He continued: “Our priority now is to assist passengers who have been stranded. We have chartered two aircraft to assist vulnerable passengers and those who most urgently need to travel”.
The regulator further extended the suspense on Sunday while all the evidence provided by Comair was reviewed.
ALSO READ: ‘It’s business as usual despite protest,’ says SAA
Speaking on behalf of NUMSA on the matter, spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola reportedly said that the union was demanding the resignation of Orsmond and his executive.
“We have expressed our lack of confidence in the current leadership led by the CEO who has a track record of closing down airlines in the past.
“… Our members want to pass a vote of no confidence in the CEO and his executive to protect their jobs and livelihoods which are threatened by management decisions that put profits over people and people’s livelihoods. We demand the resignation of Glen Orsmond and his executive,” Times Live quoted Hlubi-Majola as saying.
Meanwhile, Comair said it “continued to engage constructively with the SACAA” and would update customers via SMS and social media channels.
Comair, founded in 1946, operates British Airways planes in Southern Africa.
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Compiled by Sinothando Siyolo
Additional reporting by AFP
