South Africa authorities halt flights of state-run SA Express over safety

South Africa’s Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) said Thursday it had suspended all flights of state-run airline SA Express over safety concerns. The decision comes after Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Thursday that he had appointed an “intervention team” to help at the troubled airline, which has lost several executive managers who have been suspended over graft allegations. President Cyril Ramaphosa has pledged to clean up the graft and misgovernance that critics say bedeviled the administration of his predecessor Jacob Zuma. “The decision to revoke the airline’s permits comes after the SACAA conducted an audit at the airline and its maintenance organization in the past several days, which uncovered severe cases of non-compliance that pose serious safety risks,” SACAA said. “SA Express PTY can no longer continue to operate as an airline. In order to be able to operate, SA Express will have to re-apply and be issued with relevant approvals,” it said. Nine of its 21 aircraft have had their certificates of airworthiness suspended, SACAA said.<br/>