President charters jet at huge cost
President Cyril Ramaphosa and at least 11 passengers travelled at huge cost on an SAA A340 passenger jet to the Southern African Development Community summit in Kinshasa last week because none of the SA Air Force VIP fleet is serviceable.
TimesLIVE reports this is partly because the Air Force has run behind in paying its subscription fees to the Jeppesen flight database, which effectively renders its aircraft not airworthy.
Inkwazi, the Presidential Boeing business jet, would have cost about R800 000 for the eight flying hours to the DRC and back, while the A340’s estimated average operating cost per flying hour is about R340 000 for the same flight, according to the aircraftcostcalculator.com website.
The subscription fee to the Jeppesen flight database for the entire VIP fleet is R300 000 a year.
Three sources within the aviation industry said the original tasking for the flight was for 12 people, including Ramaphosa. The A340 jet has capacity for 320 passengers.
A video posted on the official Facebook page of the Presidency shows Ramaphosa and his delegation arriving in the SAA jet in Kinshasa.
Brigadier-General Andries Mahapa, spokesperson for the military, confirmed the database contract expired in March this year.
An application process for the renewal was initiated in September 2021, but Mahapa declined to say why it has not been concluded yet, only that ‘the processing forums were not functioning for some time’.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
