Angolan aircraft grounded in Cape Town
A charter aircraft from Angola is grounded at Cape Town International Airport for landing without a mandatory foreign operator permit (FOP), according to the Transport Department.
It states that the TAAG Angolan Airlines aircraft landed on Friday with only the crew on board, reports News24.
Spokesperson Lwazi Khoza said the airline operated scheduled flights between Luanda and Johannesburg. It has a Foreign Operator's Permit (FOP), which lists all the aircraft it uses for scheduled flights.
However, it grounded some of its fleet due to maintenance and chartered the aircraft concerned, which is not listed under the FOP, for the collection of workers from oil company, Chevron.
Khoza said the International Air Services Act of 1993 requires that a holder of an FOP must apply to amend their permit if there is a change in the category or kind of aircraft, among others.
This was not done in this case.
Khoza added, however, that the SA Civil Aviation Authority investigated the situation and found that the crew had passports and were suitably licenced and qualified.
It also found that the aircraft was in an airworthy state with all the relevant documentation, and no further contraventions were established after a security assessment and K9 search.
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.
