New regulations: airlines will bear the brunt

WITH just a few
days to go before
South Africa’s
stringent new immigration
regulations come into force,
the Department of Home
Affairs has finally released
the Standard Operating
Procedures for minors
travelling into and out of
South Africa – and the brunt
of the responsibility for
ensuring that travellers have
the right documentation
will rest on the shoulders
of airline check-in staff at
international airports.
Check-in crew for airlines
around the world are meant
to police this complex set of
rules, says David Frost, ceo
of Southern African Tourism
Services Association
(Satsa). If they make the
wrong call as to whether to
allow a passenger onboard
or not, it could have farreaching
implications for
both the traveller and the
airline. “Home Affairs had
a year to put this together,
but we only received
the standard operating
procedures with 12 days to
go. If it weren’t so tragic,
it would be laughable. It’s
absolutely impossible for
the tourism industry to be
ready in time.”
TNW contacted various
airlines that fly into South
Africa to enquire whether
they have engaged with
check-in staff about
the new regulations.
Most airlines refused to
comment. However, there
are a few that say they
have implemented training
and will be as prepared as
possible, come June 1.
“We are ready, the
best we can be, for the
implementation of the
new regulations,” says
SAA spokesperson Tlali
Tlali. He says SAA began
training staff the moment
the new regulations were
announced last year. “We
conducted training and
briefing sessions with staff
who are at our customer
touch points, including call
centre staff, in order to
enable them to assist our
customers with queries at
the time of booking. The
same is the case with the
check-in staff.”
Tlali says all SAA staff
have now received Home
Affairs’ SOP guidelines,
which they can use as a
reference in case there
is any doubt or dispute
regarding the required
documentation for travelling
minors.
Andre Schulz, Lufthansa’s
gm for Southern Africa,
says the SOPs are a helpful
tool for airlines. He feels
Lufthansa’s staff is well
prepared to deal with the
new requirements. “Our
check-in staff have been
briefed for over a year now,
with training taking place
within the regular flight
briefing. We also employ
Stallion Security to check
our documents and they
have undergone in-house
training.”
Lenél Vining, Air Austral
manager for South Africa,
says the standard operating
procedures are quite clear
and adequate for airlines.
However, she also points
out that the new procedures
are not exactly the same
as the original instructions,
which were sent out in
2014.
Some changes, she says,
include: “The unabridged
birth certificate had to be
translated into English by
a certified translator, now
it is accepted in other
languages. The affidavit
had to be no older than
three months, now it is
four months. At the time
Air Austral had already
prepared a guideline
for the Réunion market,
with the more stringent
requirements. The airline
will now have to make lastminute
changes, which is of
course inconvenient for all
concerned.”
Lenél says Air Austral
implemented training
immediately once the
airline received the
official standard operating
procedures, and she is
confident the airline staff
will be ready by June 1.
However, she warns the new
regulations will place a huge
burden on the employees
who are expected to
perform the checks. “I also
think that, where there is
the slightest doubt about
correct documentation,
passengers will not be
accepted, resulting in loss
of revenue and a possibility
of increased claims in case
of incorrect decisions.”
To see the full document
on Standard Operating
Procedures for minors
travelling internationally,
see www.etnw.co.za/doc/
SummaryImmigrationMinors.
pdf.