Reply by Minister of Public Enterprises, B Hogan, on questions posed in the National Assembly for written reply

Question no.:1565

 Mr S B Farrow (DA) to ask the Minister of Public Enterprises:

(1)(a) How many SA Express flights departing from (i) Cape Town International Airport, (ii) Oliver Tambo International Airport, (iii) East London Airport, Port Elizabeth Airport, (iv) George Airport and (v) Bloemfontein Airport were cancelled in the past 12 months, (b) what were the reasons for each of these cancellations and (c) how many passengers were affected by these cancellations;

(2) whether any passenger has taken any legal action against SA Express or its affiliates as a result of these cancellations; if so, in each case, what (a) were the outcomes and (b) are the further relevant details?

Reply:

(1)(a) Of the 32 750 flights operated at Cape Town International Airport, OR Tambo International Airport, East London Airport, Port Elizabeth Airport, George Airport and Bloemfontein Airport during the period 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010, a total of 826 flights were cancelled.

 (i-v)(c)Table 1 below indicates the number of (SAX) flights cancelled as per the different airports and the number of passengers that were affected by these cancellations: 

 (b) The reasons for the cancellations were technical (59%), operational (13%), weather (10%), commercial (nine percent), miscellaneous (four percent), service providers (three percent) and damage on ground (two percent).

(2) (a-b) No legal action was taken by any customer due to flight cancellations. The South African Express' compensation policy applies for all cancellations. The airline endeavours to accommodate affected passengers on alternative flights (including those of competitors) in order to transport passengers to their destinations. If this was not possible, the airline would accommodate the passengers in a hotel and transport them the following day.

Source: Department of Public Enterprises