More than 100 passengers flying from East London to Johannesburg had to bed down in a hotel after their flight was cancelled under mysterious circumstances.
The situation on Friday night was said to have turned so tense that police were even called.
The pilot of the South African Airways plane informed passengers on the public address system on Saturday morning that the overnight delay had been due to the unavailability of fuel.
However, passengers told the Daily Dispatch they were first asked by airline staff to give up a number of seats because the flight was overbooked.
Their suspicions were heightened by the fact that a delegation of politicians returning to Johannesburg was attempting to get onto the flight.
The stand-off on Friday night lasted more than two hours, and among the politicians were cabinet ministers.
But Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) spokesman Colin Naidoo said the fuel supplier had not informed them there was a fuel shortage.
“Had Acsa known they would have issued an urgent that all aircraft bound for East London Airport would need to uplift extra fuel from other stations so that they will not be delayed when they need to depart East London.”
Various passengers scheduled to take Friday’s 8.15pm flight to OR Tambo International Airport said the flight was cancelled after 10pm and overnight accommodation organised at a beachfront hotel when airport officials were unable to find 10 people willing to surrender their seats.
Sources, including government officials who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, yesterday said the ordeal started when “dignitaries” returning from the coronation of Xhosa King Mpendulo Sigcawu in Willowvale arrived at the airport as boarding was about to take place.
They said that among the group in the airport’s VIP lounge were local government and traditional affairs Minister Pravin Gordhan, public works Minister Thulas Nxesi, international relations Deputy Minister NomaIndia Mfeketho and former KZN premier and now ANC treasurer- general Zweli Mkhize.
Attempts to get comment from Nxesi and Gordhan’s offices had been unsuccessful by editorial deadline, and Mkhize’s phone went unanswered for most of yesterday.
Mfeketho’s spokesman Nelson Kgwete refused to comment, saying: “I will not comment on that because there is no story. I only comment on stories and if it’s not a story I do not give comments.”
COPE provincial chairman Mzwandile Bula and the party’s sole MPL, Bishop Lievie Sharpley, were also scheduled to catch the flight.
However, the two were among those put up for the night.
It is believed that of the 125 people set to board, at least 85 were booked into a hotel.
Sharpley said he planned to demand “thorough investigations” as passengers were given “contradictory statements” to explain the flight’s cancellation.
“That situation nearly turned ugly. It was announced through the airport intercom that the flight had been over-booked by 10 people and that 10 of us had to volunteer to surrender our seats.
“Apparently seven people obliged, but we were later told they needed three more to do the same and when they failed to get those three, we were later informed that the flight had been cancelled,” Sharpley said.
He added that agitated passengers “had a perception” that the 10 seats were needed to accommodate “dignitaries”.
“Passengers were agitated and did not want to leave the airport because they thought after being taken to the hotels, those dignitaries would then be allowed to board.
“They demanded to see the dignitaries leaving the airport before they left for the hotel.
“There was an instance where police were called, but after I convinced airport management and police that their presence would make matters worse, police eventually left,” Sharpley said.
He added that on the following morning’s flight – with some of the dignitaries present – they were informed by the captain that Friday night’s flight had been cancelled because there was not enough fuel for the plane.
Bula said the incident was “an inconvenience and a serious disappointment which warranted an investigation.
“Even though I cannot safely say the flight was cancelled due to ministers not having seats, many people suspected that and were yelling that it was the underlying reason. But for me that was just speculation.
“If it could only be realised when passengers are about to board that there is no fuel, then that is a problem and a serious embarrassment to that institution.
“It means the standards have dropped to such an extent that an airport will only know in the eleventh hour that they do not have fuel. This is wrong as people should not be exposed to such dangerous mistakes,” Bula said.
He added that he had been concerned for a lady who had been “crying hysterically” saying her mother had a heart attack and that she needed to be in Johannesburg that night. — asandan@dispatch.co.za / siphem@dispatch.co.za
Mystery over halted flight
The situation on Friday night was said to have turned so tense that police were even called.
The pilot of the South African Airways plane informed passengers on the public address system on Saturday morning that the overnight delay had been due to the unavailability of fuel.
However, passengers told the Daily Dispatch they were first asked by airline staff to give up a number of seats because the flight was overbooked.
Their suspicions were heightened by the fact that a delegation of politicians returning to Johannesburg was attempting to get onto the flight.
The stand-off on Friday night lasted more than two hours, and among the politicians were cabinet ministers.
But Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) spokesman Colin Naidoo said the fuel supplier had not informed them there was a fuel shortage.
“Had Acsa known they would have issued an urgent that all aircraft bound for East London Airport would need to uplift extra fuel from other stations so that they will not be delayed when they need to depart East London.”
Various passengers scheduled to take Friday’s 8.15pm flight to OR Tambo International Airport said the flight was cancelled after 10pm and overnight accommodation organised at a beachfront hotel when airport officials were unable to find 10 people willing to surrender their seats.
Sources, including government officials who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, yesterday said the ordeal started when “dignitaries” returning from the coronation of Xhosa King Mpendulo Sigcawu in Willowvale arrived at the airport as boarding was about to take place.
They said that among the group in the airport’s VIP lounge were local government and traditional affairs Minister Pravin Gordhan, public works Minister Thulas Nxesi, international relations Deputy Minister NomaIndia Mfeketho and former KZN premier and now ANC treasurer- general Zweli Mkhize.
Attempts to get comment from Nxesi and Gordhan’s offices had been unsuccessful by editorial deadline, and Mkhize’s phone went unanswered for most of yesterday.
Mfeketho’s spokesman Nelson Kgwete refused to comment, saying: “I will not comment on that because there is no story. I only comment on stories and if it’s not a story I do not give comments.”
COPE provincial chairman Mzwandile Bula and the party’s sole MPL, Bishop Lievie Sharpley, were also scheduled to catch the flight.
However, the two were among those put up for the night.
It is believed that of the 125 people set to board, at least 85 were booked into a hotel.
Sharpley said he planned to demand “thorough investigations” as passengers were given “contradictory statements” to explain the flight’s cancellation.
“That situation nearly turned ugly. It was announced through the airport intercom that the flight had been over-booked by 10 people and that 10 of us had to volunteer to surrender our seats.
“Apparently seven people obliged, but we were later told they needed three more to do the same and when they failed to get those three, we were later informed that the flight had been cancelled,” Sharpley said.
He added that agitated passengers “had a perception” that the 10 seats were needed to accommodate “dignitaries”.
“Passengers were agitated and did not want to leave the airport because they thought after being taken to the hotels, those dignitaries would then be allowed to board.
“They demanded to see the dignitaries leaving the airport before they left for the hotel.
“There was an instance where police were called, but after I convinced airport management and police that their presence would make matters worse, police eventually left,” Sharpley said.
He added that on the following morning’s flight – with some of the dignitaries present – they were informed by the captain that Friday night’s flight had been cancelled because there was not enough fuel for the plane.
Bula said the incident was “an inconvenience and a serious disappointment which warranted an investigation.
“Even though I cannot safely say the flight was cancelled due to ministers not having seats, many people suspected that and were yelling that it was the underlying reason. But for me that was just speculation.
“If it could only be realised when passengers are about to board that there is no fuel, then that is a problem and a serious embarrassment to that institution.
“It means the standards have dropped to such an extent that an airport will only know in the eleventh hour that they do not have fuel. This is wrong as people should not be exposed to such dangerous mistakes,” Bula said.
He added that he had been concerned for a lady who had been “crying hysterically” saying her mother had a heart attack and that she needed to be in Johannesburg that night. — asandan@dispatch.co.za / siphem@dispatch.co.za
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