Pretoria - The Air Services Licensing Council (ASLC) has found that the grounded Skywise Airlines is safe and reliable to operate following an inspection that was taken to protect the interest of the public.
ASLC met with the Skywise management on Wednesday to assess and understand operational challenges that Skywise Airlines has been experiencing.
The Department of Transport said the council takes special interest in protecting the general flying public, in line with the requirements of the Air Services Licensing Act.
“Skywise Airlines air service licence is still valid and based on the representative of South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA), a recent inspection conducted on Skywise in November 2015 found Skywise to be safe and reliable to operate an air service operation,” the department said.
According to News24, the Airports Company of South Africa (Acsa) suspended Skywise's flights on 2 December due to unpaid airport charges for landing, take off, parking of aircraft and related service charges.
Acsa said in a statement on Tuesday that it was unable to accept the revised payment terms suggested by the airline, saying the payment terms "could have macro-economic effects on the organisation", reported News24. – SAnews.gov.za
