The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is to investigate the problem that caused the main runway at Cape Town International Airport to be closed for over five hours on Sunday.
"This falls within the ambit of things we normally inspect," CAA spokesperson Phindiwe Gwebu said on Monday.
The authority - tasked with promoting, regulating and enforcing civil aviation safety and security - was awaiting a report from the Airports Company South Africa (Acsa), she said.
Acsa spokesperson Deidre Hendricks said a "pavement surface defect" led to the runway being closed shortly after damage was spotted by an aircraft crew while taking off on Sunday morning.
"It was reported between 11.20am and 11.30am. By 11.35am, the runway had been closed because we were not prepared to take any safety risks."
She declined on Monday to say which airline had reported the problem, saying only it "did not cause an immediate threat to the aircraft upon its take-off".
Photographs of the affected runway in Cape Town newspapers on Monday morning showed an area of about 30 square metres undergoing repair by airport workers.
The runway was re-opened at 5pm on Sunday. Hendricks said lifting and crumbling of the asphalt on the runway was caused by stress and environmental factors, including high temperatures.
Civil aviation regulations in South Africa require runway inspections to be carried out "at reasonable intervals".
Hendricks said the runway at Cape Town International Airport was inspected six times a day.
"This inspection is done by various departments operating in Acsa, to ensure the credibility of the checks," she said. - Sapa
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