South African Airlines ground flights after faults found at SAA maintenance unit

South African Airways and other carriers grounded aircraft and canceled domestic flights Tuesday after South Africa's aviation regulator instructed the airline to address problems at its maintenance unit. The instruction is the latest blow for SAA, which has not made an annual profit since 2011 and is dependent on govt bailouts for its survival. It has floundered with an unprofitable route network and a fleet of aging and inefficient airplanes. The South African Civil Aviation Authority said it had inspected a number of aircraft at SAA Technical and had issued a prohibition order until the faults it had found had been fixed. It did not disclose what the faults were or which aircraft type was affected, citing confidentiality agreements. <br/>