The South African Civil Aviation Authority has fined India’s Jet Airways R80,000 ($8,800) after a chartered Airbus A330 carrying wedding guests from India to Sun City landed at a nearby military airport without permission and proper paperwork.
The incident has locally become known as “Guptagate” as the charter was organized by the wealthy and politically connected Gupta family, owners of TNA Media in Midrand, South Africa.
According to the aviation authority, the aircraft landed at the Waterkloof air force base in South Africa on April 30 without prior written permission. Government officials required that the aircraft be moved to a civilian airport, in this case the OR Tambo International airport, where the aviation authority confirmed that the aircraft did not have a Foreign Operator Permit, a requirement for a civilian operation.
The aircraft did however conform to “all other safety related requirements such as a valid Certificate of Airworthiness, and its maintenance records were up to date”, officials say.
07/05/13 John Croft/Aviation Week
