British Airways apologises for ‘landing gear warning’ incident

Just days after the lifting of a suspension of Comair-operated flights, a British Airways flight from Gqeberha to Cape Town experienced technical problems with its landing gear.

Comair spokesperson Stephen Forbes confirmed there was an issue with the landing gear on flight BA6324 during final approach on Saturday.

Comair operates Kulula.com and British Airways flights in SA.

“We confirm that following a landing gear warning indication … on final approach … to Cape Town International Airport the pilot performed standard safety checks and once the correct reading was achieved a normal landing occurred,” said Forbes.

“The safety of our personnel and customers is always our foremost priority.

“We apologise to customers for the resultant 15-minute delay,” he said in a statement.

The SA Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) suspended Comair’s operations for five days after a series of safety-related issues.

The air safety regulator said it had suspended operations “to confirm Comair’s compliance with applicable civil aviation regulations”.

“The inspection was also aimed at reviewing Comair’s safety management systems and quality control management system to establish compliance related to the reporting, analysis and follow-up on occurrences, and corrective action plans to prevent recurrence.”