A recent power outage at Cape Town International Airport caused significant delays and diversions for local and international airlines, impacting operations and finances. This issue and the Air Traffic Navigation Service’s (ATNS) indefinite suspension of flight approaches at nine airports have exacerbated the situation.
The suspension of flight approaches, particularly at airports where all previously available approaches have been withdrawn, forces airlines to delay or cancel flights, especially in adverse weather conditions. Aaron Munetsi, CEO of the Airlines Association of Southern Africa, said, “Flight schedule disruptions are financial hammer blows to airlines,” highlighting the lost sales, ticket cancellations, and additional costs for fuel, ground handling, and passenger re-accommodation.
Broader economic and service disruptions
The disruptions are affecting businesses, trade, and emergency services in towns such as Kimberley, George, Polokwane, Mthatha, and Richards Bay. Additionally, South Africa’s air services licensing councils have halted operations due to unpaid fees, obstructing efforts to expand air services.
Munetsi stressed, “The country needs to harness aviation’s potential and treat air connectivity as a key pillar in its strategy to recover the economy, create jobs and restore its competitiveness.”
He urged Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy to intervene, stating, “On behalf of all its members, the Airlines Association of Southern Africa urges the Minister of Transport to ensure these avoidable failures are resolved expeditiously before irreparable economic harm is done and jobs are sacrificed.”
He also emphasised the need for government action, saying: “Government must act and ensure its entities responsible for providing world-class aviation services and infrastructure – the Department of Transport, ACSA, ATNS, and the SACAA (which now houses the two licensing councils) – prevent these kinds of disruptions and deliver on their mandate of enabling safe, reliable, efficient, and accessible passenger and cargo air transport.”
Munetsi concluded: “Various studies and reports, including those published by the African Civil Aviation Commission, the International Air Transport Association, and Oxford Economics, indicate that every Rand spent on air transport in South Africa contributes approximately six Rands in economic activity which in turn sustains and creates desperately needed jobs and livelihoods.” He warned, “Without swift and decisive interventions, South Africa will score an own goal it simply cannot afford.”
