The Ministry of Transport has revealed that there are high chances for some grounded Antonov aircraft to resume operations in the country soon.
The twist comes after the South Sudan Civil Aviation Authority (SSCA) banned all the Antonov planes operating in the country last month, citing safety concerns linked to substandard maintenance.
The order came just after an Antonov cargo plane, belonging to Optimum Antonov 26, crashed shortly after taking off from Juba International Airport, claiming the lives of five crew members.
The planes that were grounded were mostly Antonov [aircraft], including AN-26, AN-24, 28, and 30, as well as AN-SO Hawkers and HS-748, except for the UN-run Antonovs.
Speaking to the media over the weekend, Madut Biar Yiel, the Minister of Transport, told reporters that some of those grounded aircraft would soon resume their normal duties in the country.
According to Yiel, the aircraft will be allowed to resume their duties in the country after presenting their well-deserved documents from recognised maintenance companies.
However, Yiel did not disclose when exactly the banned Antonov planes would resume their operations.
“What I can say is that soon some grounded Antonov planes will resume their flights in the country when they are done with the process because I believe some of them are cooperative with the committee,” he added.
According to the transport minister, the ban is not permanent and just for engineers to look for the documents of maintenance and contact the countries in which they are registered.
“After all, what we want are clean documents, clean records, and other agreements like occasionally flying back to manufacturer countries for life spanner maintenance.”
Although he said some planes would be allowed to continue with their obligations in the country, he added that no plane would be allowed to operate with both cargo and passenger aircraft.
He said the operators must decide whether to operate cargo aircraft or passenger aircraft only.
But Yiel stressed that if the operator chooses to operate passenger airlines, then it has to be for passengers only.
Must comply
He stressed that any plane that did not have clean documents would remain barred until they got them or a total ban on them.
“The committee with the companies is almost finished, and as soon as they finish, those whose documents are clean will be allowed to resume, and those who are not supposed to fly again will not resume,” Yiel said.
He said it is important for clean planes to resume working in the country to help people in flood-affected areas that are unreachable by roads.
In the same month of November, the air cargo fares spiked, leading to complaints from the clients following the ban on the Antonov planes. This was triggered by the high demand for local air travel in the country.
This situation leaves a huge opportunity for passenger airlines to expand upon their small share of the air cargo market by refocusing their efforts and attention.
Amen Deng Chol, the Managing Director of Super Power for Trading and Investment at Airline Services, told The City Review last month that the suspension had yielded an extra workload for a few cargo planes in the country, and as a result, the fees have increased.
“We now have one army Antonov, which is the one transporting the cargo and is now moving two times a day. Otherwise, I think people would have been suffering. Maybe people will go on strike,” he stressed.
Since independence, South Sudan has witnessed several aviation accidents that have involved Antonov aircraft, including one that involved the South Sudan Supreme Airlines that happened at Pieri, Uror County, killing all 10 people on board, including the two pilots.