The South African government has continued to strive to ensure that the country’s relations with Cuba remain cordial at all times.
It is along this line that the country’s carrier, South Africa Airways, SAA, insists that the charter flight which was meant to transport Cuban technicians back to the Caribbean island last week will still take place this week.
The plane was stopped by customs officials last week at the Waterkloof Air Force base after it was discovered that the aircraft, which was chartered by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), also had some firearms and ammunition on board.
The media was awash with reports at the weekend that an SAA plane chartered by the SANDF to transport 150 Cuban technicians who were in South Africa to conduct maintenance on aging aircraft, was stopped at Waterkloof airbase.
Customs officials said they found rifles, light machine guns and ammunition on board. As the SAA spokesperson, Tlali Tlali, explained the departure of the aircraft was delayed due to administrative issues.
Mr. Tlali declared, “SAA policy does not permit for the carriage of any items deemed munitions of war, or parts thereof, regardless of the nature of the flight”. He made it clear that SAA does not transport arms and ammunition as such items are classified in the category of dangerous goods class (DGR class).
