Airline Drops Licensing Compliance Bombshell

A recent decision by the Air Services Licensing Council ASLC finding FlySafair non-compliant with domestic licensing rules, could jeopardise the operations of other major airlines in South Africa and potentially bring significant disruption for air travel, says FlySafair in a media release issued yesterday afternoon,January 14.

The Council has issued a ruling that calls into question the compliance of numerous airlines with the Air Services Licensing Act, specifically regarding ownership requirements, reads the statement.

The crux of the matter lies in the interpretation of the Act's provision mandating that 75 of an airline's voting rights must be held by Residents of the Republic . The ASLC's stance is that this means that airlines must have individual natural person shareholders, effectively excluding trusts and companies a common ownership structure in the industry.

Ignoring the fact that most individuals do not have the capital or resources to own an airline, this interpretation potentially renders the majority of South African airlines non-compliant, including major players like Airlink and SAA.

Airlinkissued its own media release contradicting this andsayingit complied with all SACAA regulations.'Airlink notes this afternoons news release by FlySafair. Airlink complies with all South African civil aviation regulations and respects the regulatory processes and decisions of the domestic and international licensing councils, which are the mandated economic regulators for South Africas commercial aviation industry.'