Air safety jeopardised in South Africa by state entity’s failure

Key topics:ATNS failed to update IFPs, disrupting flights and airport operations.IFP lapses limit safe landings during poor visibility conditions.Staffing shortages and global talent drain worsen air safety risks..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here.The auditorium doors will open for BNIC#2 on 10 September 2025 in Hermanus. For more information and tickets, click here..By Daniel Puchert.Air travel in South Africa is currently threatened by a state-owned entity’s failure to recalibrate flight instrument systems, which are imperative to the orderly functioning of airports in the country.The systems in question are instrument flight procedures (IFPs), which include predetermined departure, arrival, and landing manoeuvres.These ensure aircraft avoid obstacles while facilitating an orderly flow of air traffic and are maintained by the Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS).However, administrative issues within the organisation have resulted in significant disruptions at some South African airports and the temporary suspension of IFPs at others.IFPs are critical for facilitating orderly air traffic during bad weather conditions with low levels of visibility, known as instrument meteorological conditions. In this case, pilots rely on instruments to perform manoeuvres such as taking off and landing. The opposite of this is visual meteorological conditions (VMC), when the pilot can see where the aircraft is going.In March this year, ATNS’ failure to review IFPs at the King Phalo and George airports disrupted operations as pilots could not land during instrument meteorological conditions.Aviation expert Phuthego Mojapele said the issues at George Airport, which was hit hardest, came about when FlySafair increased daily flights from Lanseria to George.An investigation sanctioned by Transport Minister Barbara Creecy found that while Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) had requested the review of the IFPs, ATNS ignored this request.MyBroadband contacted ATNS for comment about the matter and was referred back to its previous press releases.Creecy had also previously noted that 66 IFPs were due to expire on 10 April 2025. Two days before the deadline, ACSA announced that ATNS had made progress in maintaining IFPs nationwide.“We commend ATNS for their dedicated efforts in equipping key network airports with essential approach procedures, enabling operations to continue smoothly even under challenging weather conditions,” it said.However, it also announced that IFPs at three airports had been temporarily suspended, meaning they were only accessible during visual meteorological conditions.These airports included Richards Bay Airport, Upington Airport, and Braam Fischer International Airport in Bloemfontein.“Passengers travelling to and from these airports are advised to check with their respective airlines for any updates on flight schedules.”“A major safety risk”.Rodger Foster, the outgoing Airlink CEO and MD, warned the Board of Airline Representatives of South Africa in March that ATNS had “created a major safety risk.”Foster explained that airlines operating in South Africa had invested in modern planes with the latest flight technology and navigation systems.He said they had also invested in ground-based safety systems, such as IFPs, by paying ATNS fees. However, the CEO said airlines were prohibited from using these operational safety aids and equipment when IFPs are withdrawn. “How can this possibly be safe?” he said.“By withdrawing IFPs, as a fig leaf for its administrative failure, ATNS is obliging pilots to operate aircraft with far narrower margins than any of us would like.”Foster’s sentiment is not new; the entire industry has referred to ATNS as a crisis waiting to happen.Majapele said there was also a concern that failures and poor management at ATNS are creating a skills vacuum at the entity.Creecy noted that her department’s intervention team is making progress in appointing critical staff at the entity, aiming to recruit 15 new people, of which two have already been appointed.“We are making offers to 13 others, and we have sent out headhunters to find senior ATNS staff working elsewhere around the globe to offer them incentives to return,” she said.However, Plane Talking managing director and aviation expert Linden Birns said that the sector’s shortage of qualified air traffic controllers, radar controllers, and instrument flight procedure designers is emerging as a global trend.“This was made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic and the near-total grounding of commercial flights,” Birns said.“It led to many experienced people being lost to the industry either by way of retrenchments, early retirement, death or other attrition.”Birns said the demand for a smaller talent pool has led to frequent recruitment drives by air navigation service providers in other parts of the world.Countries like Australia and the United Arab Emirates have recruited many South African controllers with lucrative remuneration packages and benefits..This article was first published by MyBroadband and is republished with permission

Air safety jeopardised in South Africa by state entity’s failure

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