From the Cape Times:
Civair failed to apply for licence to land in UK
'could not afford fee'
February 1, 2005
By A'eysha Kassiem
Civair, the airline that left thousands of passengers stranded over the holidays when it cancelled its inaugural flights between SA and London, was not licensed to land in Britain, the Cape Times has established.
The airline failed to apply for such a licence.
When British authorities were made aware of Civair's plans to offer low-cost flights between SA and the UK, they tried to contact the airline, but did not receive a response.
Civair confirmed it had not applied for a licence and said the reason was that it could not afford the deposit because an investor had withdrawn.
Contacted in London yesterday, UK Department of Transport spokesman David Stewart said: "Civair did not make any contact with our department at all. We had to contact (the airline) when we saw the reports that it was planning flights to the UK."
International airline procedures required airlines to apply for a permit to land, Stewart said.
"We have to be satisfied that it is a safe airline. If it is registered in a country with a safe aviation regime like SA, then the process will go quickly and it will not be difficult to get a permit. It can happen overnight."
Aviation documents, airworthiness and whether aircraft were properly maintained were among the aspects that had to be considered, Stewart said.
Civair's chief executive, Andy Cluver, denied yesterday that the airline had not contacted the UK's Department of Transport.
He said he had "written proof" that it had and termed the licence a "formality".
Asked why the airline had not applied for the licence, Cluver said: "We had an SA operating permit, but we still needed to submit our aircraft registration.
"We could not afford the deposit fee due to the investor's pulling out."
Civair has been struggling since November to get its service to the UK off the ground.
It postponed its inaugural flights to and from Britain twice before cancelling them.
This left Civair's passengers having to fork out large sums for seats with other airlines, which were almost fully booked for the festive season.
Cluver said Civair had refunded about 80% of the passengers who had booked to fly with it and was waiting for the others to come forward with their details.
He was confident, however, that the airline would eventually take off when it secured a "suitable investor".