7 Nov 2006 |
Mluleki Thokozani Zulu (42), of Mkuze in KwaZulu-Natal, appeared in the Bellville Magistrate's Court where magistrate FS Fani postponed the case to December 14. Zulu was checking in at Comair Airlines at the airport when he was asked if he had any inflammables in his baggage. Zulu replied in jest: "No, I only have a few bombs." (IOL)
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9 Oct 2006 |
SAA's low-cost airline is to be launched in November 2006. “There are really two issues here. SAA’s low-cost airline has to operate at true cost. We don’t want SAA subsidising it. And secondly, it can’t sell below cost. Then there will be no worries,” 1time CEO Glenn Orsmond. Jacqui O’Sullivan, SAA spokesperson said that the name of the airline would only announced once it was launched, but for licensing purposes SAA has called it the ultimate low-cost airline (Tulca). Reports have speculated that the airline would operate as Mango. Tulca will be a wholly owned subsidiary of SAA and will lease aircrafts from the national airline. Tulca would have it’s own board and chief executive.
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6 Oct 2006 |
A flippant remark sparked by irritation at limited leg-room resulted in a 32 year-old Gauteng man, Mncedisi Eric Maluleka of Naledi Extension 2 in Soweto being arrested.
About 20 minutes into the 11.11am Johannesburg-bound flight Maluleka allegedly complained about not having enough leg room. When the flight attendant told him there was nothing she could do about it, the Maluleka allegedly asked "What will you do if me and my friend hijack this plane?"
The incident caused chaos at Cape Town International Airport, with the Johannesburg bound flight having to be re-routed back to Cape Town (the pilot having alerted airport emergency services) resulting in a number of delayed flights. After the aeroplane landed it was directed to a spot as far away as possible from the terminals. A Special Task Force surrounded the aeroplane and no passengers or crew were allowed to disembark. Passengers waited for more than an hour before security staff boarded the flight and arrested the 2 men. Passengers were then allowed to disembark, and saw the 2 men kneeling handcuffed on the tarmac. Sniffer dogs were called to check the passengers' hand luggage before they were bused to the international terminal where trauma counselling was offered. Finally, 6 hours after they had first boarded flight MN 120, the passengers reboarded the same aircraft and flew to Johannesburg - without the 2 arrested men.
Eric Venter, joint chief executive of kulula.com, said: "We're working on what it cost us. In hard costs, it was perhaps R20 000 to R30 000 in extra fuel burn, having to turn the plane back, etc. The biggest cost was re-accommodating passengers on other flights. But the real cost is the reputation of the airline." |