Despite assurances from Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS) that all major South African airports will have fully reinstated instrument flight procedures (IFPs) by July next year, the Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA) says the industry still has many unanswered questions and concerns.
AASA CEO, Aaron Munetsi, has called on ATNS to provide transparent updates and more detailed timelines so that airlines and their customers can plan with certainty.
“The ATNS briefing (on October 29) on the status of suspended IFPs, staffing and critical infrastructure upgrades, as well as the recent publication of its annual report, raised more questions than answers,” said Munetsi.
Approval delays questioned
Munetsi questioned how ATNS was able to expedite the reinstatement of the instrument flight procedures for Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport, but has not managed to do the same for others.
“Why is it unable to do the same for the vast majority of the 326 IFPs it suspended in July 2024, and the additional procedures suspended on September 11 and October 8? In most instances, there are no new obstacles requiring revisions to the procedures so revalidation should be a formality,” he said.
Linden Birns, MD of PlaneTalking, added that ATNS’s ability to fast-track the procedure’s reinstatement with no need for revisions, changes and other lengthy administrative corrections set a precedent for how ATNS should be able to complete the recertification of other expired procedures.
Backlog growing
Munetsi also expressed concern over additional suspensions in recent weeks, including 17 at Cape Town International Airport and eight at George Airport, adding to the 166 suspended IFPs that remain from July 2024.
“This suggests that ATNS is falling further behind in addressing the problem. What is ATNS doing to ensure that all other IFPs due to expire in the next 12 months will be renewed in time so that they do not cause additional disruption?” asked Munetsi.
ATNS has continued to shift its deadline for the completion of its procedure maintenance programme. It previously told Travel News that its backlog would be cleared by April 2026, but told the media during the briefing that its new deadline is July 2026.
Recruitment and training
Regarding ATNS’s plans to recruit and train new staff, Munetsi said the industry would be reassured by more details on how many people are currently in ATNS’s training pipeline and the timeframes for deploying them.
“What measures, temporary or permanent, has ATNS implemented to enable it to rapidly recruit experienced and skilled personnel, including re-hiring ex-ATNS employees who retired or took their skills elsewhere, and deploy them into critical positions?”
Airlines face massive losses
“We are dealing with an operational crisis, now in its 16th month, with no clear end in sight. This threatens the economic viability of several towns and cities and South Africa’s ability to be a dependable, efficient and competitive trading partner and destination for tourism and investment,” said Munetsi.
He emphasised the financial burden the suspended IFPs have placed on airlines as they incur additional costs for taking care of affected passengers, animals in transit, extra fuel, landing, parking and ground handling for diverted flights, additional crew and accelerated maintenance of aircraft and engines due to the unplanned additional flight hours. Furthermore, airlines have to pay ATNS for their basic service provision and extra charges for en-route navigation and air traffic control charges associated with any diversions.
“As the primary providers of income to ATNS through its statutory user charges, our member (airlines) rightfully ask what recompense could be implemented to at least recover costs that airlines have and continue to incur, due to no fault of their own,” stated Munetsi.
According to Joachim Vermooten, aviation economist and chartered accountant, the situation could be improved by better medium-term resource planning and policies that ensure retention and attraction of key specialists supported by suitable funding.
