South Africa's Competition Commission has conducted a search and seize operation at the offices of South African Airways (SAA), Mango Airlines and the Airlines Association of Southern Africa, following suspicions that Mango and SAA may have withheld information.

The March 31 search operation formed part of the Commission's investigation, which began in January, into collusion in the airlines industry, particularly regarding increasing prices over the 2010 FIFA World Cup period.

It was the national carrier, SAA, which first made a leniency application to the Commission in December 2009, when the airline reported on a communication from a competitor relating to 2010 pricing. At that stage, SAA undertook to fully cooperate with the Commission in exchange for leniency from prosecution under the Competition Act.

In an emailed statement on Tuesday, SAA said that it continued to cooperate fully with the investigation, giving the Commission its full support, and added that SAA was eager to ensure that matters were brought to a resolution as soon as possible.

Other passenger airlines in South Africa, namely SA Express, Comair, and 1time have denied collusion relating to ticket pricing.

The Commission said that during the search it seized documents and electronic data, which would be analysed together with other information gathered, to determine whether a contravention of the Competition Act has taken place.