true life story:
I need to renew my SA Comm in a few month's time, so, because I am working in a foreign country and cannot just take leave (or go awol and go unpunnished) when I feel like it, I have applied for an extension to my license. A young lady at CAA was very friendly and expedient in helping me resolve this matter. Until it came to extending my medical...then the wheels cam off, big time.
Suddenly I am told that the validity dates on my officially issued medical certificate is invalid ! It was explained at lenght that if the examination was done more than 30 before the then current expiry date of the medical, the examination date would now be the new starting validity date up til 12 months later. BUT the examination was done less than 30 days before the then current expiry date, thus the medical could be extended from that expiry date for a furthe 12 months !!! their own words, but still I am told the validity dates in the certificate issued me was wrong !
No official correspondence by letter or phone was directed to me and if I had gone flying in SA as I wanted, I would have been doing so illegally!!
Then told to liase with CAA, who had told me to liase with the Institute, who told me to speak to CAA , who told me to speak to the Institute ..... etc
No wonder there is something called Air Rage.
But the cherry on the insult when an American tourist asked me if, since I am a South African, I have a South African license, cause apparently they are fake !!!
These freeloaders in the SA aviation industry and our national carrier, has tarnished all our reputations with their criminal behaviour, and now those of us who work for what we get, are suffering because of it.