January 17, 2025

Grounding FlySafair Could Devastate South Africa's Air Travel

The Air Services Licensing Council is pursuing a non-compliance case against FlySafair, which could severely impact South African domestic air travel. If the council's interpretation of the act prevails in court, FlySafair's fleet of 34 aircraft, comprising a significant portion of domestic seat capacity, may be grounded.
Kirby Gordon, FlySafair's Chief Marketing Officer, explains that such action would affect nearly 87% of domestic seats when considering FlySafair, Airlink, and SAA combined. He warns that this would remove around 304,000 weekly seats, causing catastrophic disruption to travelers.
The council claims FlySafair is non-compliant due to the ownership structure involving trusts and companies rather than natural persons, despite FlySafair meeting requirements for voting rights.
Legal experts argue that this interpretation contradicts global aviation norms and past legal precedents, such as the 2014 Comair ruling.
FlySafair successfully halted a similar international council decision in 2024 through legal intervention, forcing further engagement.