Swift Air plane ‘grounded’ in SA

A Boeing 737 200 belonging to Swift Air Malawi has been grounded in South Africa.

 

Chief executive officer for the airline Louise Perepeczko said the flight failed to return on Wednesday because it did not have passengers from Johannesburg.

Said Perepeczko: “We only had passengers from Lilongwe and we decided to get cargo to return with the flight. The reason is because South Africa does not know us yet, but the plane should be back early today.”

But director of civil aviation Alfred Mtilatila said a misunderstanding between Swift Air and Star Air Cargo rose, forcing the former to pull out of an agreement.

Said Mtilatila: “Apparently, Swift Air was not happy with the figure put on the final agreement as it did not reflect the natal one. It decided to terminate the agreement with Star Air Cargo from where it leased its aircraft. The plane is back to base.”

Swift Air launched its domestic passengers plane on April 20 2011 with a pledge to invest almost K3 billion (about $20 million) in the next two years.

Its website swiftairmalawi.com reads: “Serving not only our domestic market, but also linking regionally to Johannesburg on operator’s licence number ASP001/2011.”