airlink extends delay in reinstating service to mthatha
JOHANNESBURG – Airlink, the Southern African regional airline, regrets to announce that it has once again had to suspend its services between OR Tambo International Airport and Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, with immediate effect. This temporary suspension is directly attributable to the failure of the airports Navigation Beacons which have not been repaired successfully, although the contractor has been on site since last week Thursday. We expect to be able to resume our services again on Thursday 4 February 2010, provided the beacons have been repaired and are proven to be serviceable.
The airport and its operator the Eastern Cape Provincial Government, are addressing the ongoing unserviceability of the two Non Directional Beacons which are essential in guiding aircraft to the runway during times when there is no visibility due to cloud or night time operations.
One of the two beacons has been unserviceable for quite some time, and the second has worked only intermittently for months. Whilst there have been previous attempts to repair the beacons, it seems that to date these have not been successful.
Passengers with travel arrangements over the next few days will have the choice of re-booking on a later date, or applying for a refund, or rerouting via East London.
Once again Airlink thanks our loyal customers for their continued support and we apologize sincerely for any inconvenience caused by this temporary discontinuation of our normal Mthatha services.
Media contact:
Director Communications
Eastern Cape Provincial Government
Ncedo Kumbaca
Ncedo.Kumbaca@dot.ecprov.gov.za
mobile 082 562 6023
Karin Murray
karinmurray@flyairlink.com
tel: 011 451 7335
www.flyairlink.com