Over 40 aircraft were affected by the South African civil aviation regulator's order to conduct verification checks following an audit of South African Airways' maintenance division.
South African minister of transport Fikile Mbalula disclosed, at a briefing on 24 October, that the audit has resulted in five findings relating to non-compliance with civil aviation regulations.
Two of these findings involved unqualified personnel releasing or signing off maintenance work, and improper maintenance checks on flight-data and cockpit-voice recorders.
Mbalula says these issues could have affected entire fleets and "remained a cause for concern" for the South African Civil Aviation Authority, which subsequently ordered verification checks on aircraft operated by South African Airways, Mango and Comair.
Twenty-five aircraft from the SAA fleet, plus another 12 from Comair and seven Mango aircraft were affected, says Mbalula.
SAA confirms that 25 aircraft were identified as needing compliance verification, and 21 had been checked and returned to service by 24 October.
"All flights are now operating on schedule," it adds.
Four remaining aircraft are undergoing extended servicing, the carrier says, and had already been withdrawn from operations for routine maintenance.
Comair says its fleet returned to full operational status on 23 October.
