Last checked at 
* Regulator conducted audit at SAA Technical
* Found unspecified irregularities
* SAA, Mango, Kulula.com, BA flights affected
* Corrective action needed on some aircraft
* Regulator accepts SAA Technical action plan
(Adds regulator, SAA, Mango comments)
By Alexander Winning
JOHANNESBURG, Oct 22 (Reuters) - South African Airways (SAA)
and British Airways partner Comair were forced to
reschedule at least a dozen domestic flights on Tuesday after a
safety inspection at SAA's maintenance subsidiary used by both
carriers found problems.
The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) said it
had inspected a few aircraft at South African Airways Technical
and issued a prohibition order until the faults had been fixed.
It did not disclose what the faults were or which aircraft
type was affected, citing confidentiality agreements.
The regulator said it had accepted a corrective action plan
by SAA's maintenance unit and that SAA and Comair's decision to
"self-ground" some aircraft was a precautionary measure.
"SAA understands that the inspection conducted by SACAA was
in accordance with its regulations and a necessary exercise to
ensure compliance and safety," said cash-strapped SAA, which is
dependent on government bailouts for its survival.
SAA said in a statement it had cancelled four domestic
flights but that it would combine flights and deploy bigger
aircraft to accommodate affected passengers. It did not specify
how many aircraft it had recalled.
SAA spokesman Tlali Tlali said no international flights had
been affected and would depart normally from Johannesburg's OR
Tambo airport on Tuesday evening.
SAA mainly operates Airbus aircraft on its
passenger routes, while subsidiary Mango Airlines operates
Boeing aircraft, he said.
Mango Airlines said there would be some delays on flights
throughout Tuesday.
Comair, which flies under both the British Airways and
kulula.com brands in southern Africa, said that as of 10:15 a.m.
local time (0815 GMT) a third of its services had been affected.
It said corrective action was needed on some of its aircraft
and that it expected its full fleet to be back in operation by
Wednesday morning.
At 1000 GMT kulula.com's website showed that eight domestic
flights had been rescheduled, one under the kulula.com brand and
seven under the British Airways brand. Comair operates Boeing
aircraft.
(Additional reporting by Nqobile Dludla
Editing by Jason Neely and Deepa Babington)
