Passengers are demanding refunds after their flights were cancelled on one of South Africa’s newest airlines‚ Skywise‚ which seems to be encountering financial headwinds.

The airline admitted it was experiencing problems‚ but did not provide the reasons.

“Dear travellers‚ flights S8 101 & S8 102 have been cancelled. We’re working on alternative flights to accommodate everyone as best we can. We will keep you updated as soon as there are any developments. Please accept our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience‚” the airline said on its Twitter feed this morning.

Cape Town flyer Ayanda Melansi @Ayanda_Melansi questioned the airline on Twitter this morning‚ asking: “@SkywiseAirline Do we know why your first flight for today was grounded? I’m getting conflicting responses”.

The airline‚ in reply‚ apologised and stated: “We’ll be posting more updates as soon as we can”.

The problems appear to have begun on Sunday‚ when Skywise wrote this post on its Facebook page: “We experienced an unexpected technical fault this morning‚ hence the disruptions we are experiencing. The only flights affected were 105 & 112 the rest of the flights are expected to operate on schedule. Please accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience suffered. We will keep you updated should there be further developments”.

Disgruntled passengers took to Twitter‚ with Rasthoem Simons @simsport tweeting: “@SkywiseAirline not even your staff knows what’s happening anymore.So much for changing the face of airline service in SA”. In response to the airline’s apology‚ he wrote: “Would just like my refund for BA flight I had to book processed asap”.

Another passenger‚ Jullieta lum @jenonel1 tweeted: “Also had to buy BA tickets over R6000. Refund?”

News outlets Moneyweb and EWN are reporting that the airline is in the red over its payments to Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS). Journalist Antoinette Slab @AntoinetteSlabb tweeted‚ “ATNS grounded Skywise on Saturday for outstanding fees. Allowed flights to resume on Sunday. What now?” Passengers who have paid for flights would also like to know.

J. Malik‚ one of the managing Skywise directors contacted by telephone‚ said he could not answer questions about the lack of payment to Air Traffic and Navigation Services straight away. “We are possibly going to have a press conference or reply in a press statement to everyone at once‚” he said.

This is the second disruption to air travel in South Africa this month. Last week‚ The Times reported that a failure of control-tower equipment at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport left dozens of planes grounded. ATNS confirmed the failure of radio equipment‚ saying a technical malfunction had interrupted communication between air traffic controllers and crew on planes at the airport and in the surrounding airspace.

Source: RDM News Wire