In a precautionary move, Comair (South Africa) (CAW, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) has temporarily moved its line maintenance from Lufthansa Technik Maintenance International (LTMI) to SAA Technical (SAAT) following a recent South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) review of the Lufthansa Technik subsidiary. Comair currently uses both SAAT - a South African Airways Group subsidiary - and LTMI to maintain its aircraft.

“Although LTMI passed a routine SACAA audit in February of this year, the unscheduled review made a number of findings which need to be addressed within 24-hours or the Approved Maintenance Organisation (AMO) licence is suspended,” Comair explained in a statement.

“The findings are not directly related to the technical problems that led to the temporary grounding of the Comair fleet a few days ago. A regular audit of LTMI by the SACAA in February did not reveal any major complaints and LTMI's approval was renewed,” a Lufthansa Technik spokesman stated.

“We have taken note of Comair's decision to implement a temporary mitigation plan to safeguard their operation. The unscheduled audit the SACAA conducted, which ended recently, produced a low single-digit number of findings. These are currently being clarified between LTMI and SACAA. LTMI operates Lufthansa Technik's maintenance business for customers outside Germany and holds the maintenance contract with Comair.”

He clarified that LTMI is a 100% subsidiary of Lufthansa Technik. “There is no link to Lufthansa and only an indirect link to Lufthansa Group as Lufthansa Technik is a 100% subsidiary of them, but Lufthansa Technik is acting completely independent in the MRO business. Therefore, it is important for us to clarify that Lufthansa is not involved at all in our business relations with Comair.”

Comair’s move follows its five-day grounding last week after the SACAA suspended its air operator’s certificate (AOC) citing safety concerns following a spate of incidents, including engine failures, and engine- and landing gear malfunctions. Comair said the SACAA had yielded “no safety and security findings […] regarding either flight operations or maintenance,” but instead appeared to have been about procedural processes.

“Our priority at the moment is to restore a full, reliable flight schedule for our customers to ensure they can book and fly with confidence, which is why, in these extraordinary circumstances, we acted as soon as we were informed that the suspension was a possibility,” said Comair Chief Executive Officer Glenn Orsmond.

“While Comair respects and fully supports the SACAA in fulfilling its mandate and in so doing, ensuring that flight safety standards prevail in South Africa, Lufthansa and its technical maintenance facility rank globally as one of the world’s most respected airlines and maintenance organisations,” Comair stated.

In a preliminary report, the Accident and Incident Investigation Division (AIID) of the SACAA said it was continuing its investigation into a February 10, 2022, incident when a Comair B737-800, ZS-ZWD (msn 40855), en-route to Cape Town International suffered an engine failure shortly after take-off from Johannesburg Lanseria. The flight diverted to Johannesburg O.R. Tambo and landed safely on one engine.