A FlySafair aeroplane bound for Johannesburg from Cape Town had to turn around and make its way back due to a minor “technical issue” onboard. At approximately 7.13am, FlySafair issued a statement announcing that flight number FA128 had had to return to Cape Town International Airport due to this issue.
“The flight left Cape Town International at 06:18,” the airline said in an official statement. “Shortly after take-off, the crew received an alert regarding a minor technical issue relating to the way the aircraft was balancing fuel loads and, in the interest of safety, they took the decision to return to Cape Town International so that the aircraft could be inspected.”
“We appreciate that this sort of delay causes customers a great deal of inconvenience. We’re proud to be the most punctual airline in the world, and it pains us to inconvenience customers in this way, but we know that our customers appreciate the fact that we will always put safety first in all cases,” FlySafair said. “This disruption to operations will have a knock-on effect on some later flights, specifically FA129 from Johannesburg to Cape Town. Our teams are currently sending out SMS notifications to all those customers, using the numbers we were provided at the time of booking. Airport staff at OR Tambo International are also available to speak with customers on FA129.”
A backup aircraft was deployed, and it is still not clear what the technical issue onboard the flight FA128 aeroplane was.
FlySafair was named Best Airline in Africa & the Indian Ocean Region in the 2019 TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards for two years running.
Picture: FlySafair