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Nationwide could shut down
02/12/2007 09:12 - (SA)
S'Thembiso Hlongwane
Johannesburg - Speculation is rife that domestic airline Nationwide may be forced to close shop.
On Friday Nationwide staff scrambled to deal with irate passengers left stranded at airports after the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had suspended the airline's Aviation Maintenance Organisation (AMO) licence late last on Thursday, effectively grounding all its aircraft.
The airline had hoped to have dealt with the matter before Friday and had not informed passengers of the problem, which led to scores of people, including children going on school trips, being left stranded and frustrated at airports.
Guy Lietch of SA Flyer magazine says Nationwide CEO Vernon Bricknell, who started the company from humble beginnings as a one-man charter operator for the UN on food flights into Africa, could be forced to close shop.
"It's unlikely that Nationwide will recover from CAA's decision. It will take sometime before they can return to the sky, maybe two or three months if they are lucky to find AMO at short notice," says Lietch.
Lietch says with the airline having already cancelled 60 flights, including one to London and two to Livingstone, Zambia, on Friday night, it will be extremely difficult to return to profitability.
"The big question is, can Bricknell manage to keep the company afloat while paying all his staff on time?" asks Lietch.
Phindiwe Gwebu, CAA spokesperson, said on Saturday that a part collected from a Nationwide plane's engine could not be traced to its original supplier, fuelling speculation that some fitted parts could be counterfeit.
"At this stage we are still investigating and cannot say if all the parts are original or pirated."
She said the aviation authority had been forced to ground the planes because the airline's maintenance division had failed to comply with safety regulations.
Last month Nationwide flight CE723 lost part of its engine as it was taking off from Cape Town Airport.
And Nationwide's problems could increase.
On Saturday Comair, which operates Kulula.com and British Airways in South Africa, withdrew its earlier offer to help fly stranded Nationwide passengers.
Comair officials said the decision was taken after Nationwide's tickets were declared void by the International Air Transport Association.
In a letter to customers posted on Nationwide's website on Friday, Bricknell tried to reassure travellers that they could re-book their flights or have their tickets refunded.
"With immediate effect, all flights have been suspended until further notice," said Bricknell in the letter.
"We have approached the CAA for further details and guidance in respect of any actions they would like us to implement that would enable them to reinstate the AMO's licence, at which point normal operations will resume."
Dirk Hermann, a spokesperson for the trade union, Solidarity, says Nationwide, which employs more than a 1 000 people, is in serious trouble.
"The situation looks bleak. Our lawyers are busy preparing a business rescue plan. We are worried about the well-being of the company and the staff," says Hermann.
By late on Saturday Bricknell could not be reached for comment.
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