The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) has condemned the behaviour on an unruly passenger aboard a FlySafair flight last Thursday.This after several videos went viral on social media, showing a female passenger, in a heated altercation with crew members and passengers on a flight from Durban to Cape Town. It has since been established that the passenger is an employee of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).SACCA said it has received a full report from FlySafair regarding the incident and has referred it to the law enforcement for further investigations.The Authority’s Director of Civil Aviation, Poppy Khoza, condemned the incident and emphasised the regulator’s zero-tolerance stance against passengers who assault, threaten, intimidate, or interfere with airline cabin crew members. “It must be noted that cabin crew members are licensed as Safety Officers under the Civil Aviation Regulations. Their primary duty therefore is to ensure safety protocols are always maintained as well as the comfort of passengers.In terms of Section 135 of the Civil Aviation Act, unruly behaviour is a punishable offence that can lead to an imprisonment sentence of up to six months. Disobeying and interfering with orders from the Cabin Crew is in violation of civil aviation laws and carries a fine and jail sentence,” said Khoza.In addition, the authority said the incident was unfortunate and distasteful as it sought to undermine the safety of passengers and crew. “Unruly behaviour, nuisance, disorderly or indecent act on board any aircraft endangers the safety of both the aircraft and its occupants, and this cannot be tolerated.South Africa carries a sterling record in air safety, and this is the record that cannot be undermined by any individual,” concluded Khoza.FlySafair has confirmed that the passenger has been placed on their no-fly list and will not be welcome to board their flights.Meanwhile, the SABC said it has noted with concern the employee’s behaviour and will use relevant channels in line with its internal procedures to engage with her. “The SABC regrets this incident, and always encourages staff members to uphold the SABC values of respect and integrity in all their interactions. In the video clip, this staff member mentions the SABC and states that this incident will be broadcast on SABC News. We would like to reiterate that SABC News is guided by the Editorial Code and maintains its editorial independence, and the decisions pertaining to all news items are made in the Newsroom and not influenced by non-editorial staff members,” read a statement from the SABC.
