afrol News, 18 December - South Africa's major Airline, South Africa Airways, has said it will not chip in to assist Tanzania despite being aware that the local airliner has been grounded by the country's Civic Aviation Authority (TCAA) on safety grounds.

TCAA cancelled the flights after an inspection and having discovered more than 500 operational gaps, including poor inspection of aircraft and a shortage of pilots and aircraft technicians a year ago.

The authority statement said Tanzania's national airline was grounded last week as a precautionary but very necessary action to avoid the possibility of the airline compromising flight safety.

According to the Authority statement issued on Wednesday, the aircraft were airworthy and passengers' safety had not been at risk before the suspension. Local reports said the suspension had raised fears that Air Tanzania could be suspended from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The Authority said however Tanzanian airlines could resume in about a week if the TCAA's requirements were met, as required documentation had already been submitted to the airliner.

Robyn Chalmers, SAA's head of group corporate affairs, said SAA would continue to monitor demand but flight schedules would remain the same for now.

Zanzibar and Mount Kilimanjaro which have become popular holiday destinations, are likely to suffer with the current shortage of flights in the country.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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