In a bid to address the issues plaguing the Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS), transport minister Barbara Creecy has established a committee of aviation experts.
The committee’s primary objective will be to investigate the cause of the problems affecting the ATNS, particularly regarding flight instrument procedures and flight delays at various airports.
The ATNS has struggled to maintain flight instrument procedures, such as standard instrument departures and standard arrival routes, in recent times. This has led to the suspension of flights at 11 airports, which were found to not meet the periodic maintenance standards specified by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and civil aviation regulations.
The committee, comprising three aviation experts, will focus on three key areas: operations; delays in capital spending on infrastructure; and capacity and training programmes.
The committee members include Wrenelle Stander, an executive with over 30 years of experience in the aviation and energy industries, who will chair the committee.
She is joined by Peter Marais, who has 38 years of experience in air navigation services, and Sibusiso Nkabinde, who has over 20 years of leadership and operational expertise in the aviation sector.
In October, Business Day reported flights to and from SA airports over the peak summer season would experience delays and cancellations as the ATNS had suspended hundreds of flights after the agency missed a July 19 deadline to review and amend any flight procedures that needed updating.
The ATNS suspended hundreds of navigation procedures at airports nationwide on July 19 after they failed to meet a deadline to check whether their procedures were still accurate, and to amend any that were not.
This meant pilots would have to rely on their skills and other navigation methods, which can be tricky and can cause delays and cancellations, especially in bad weather.
The new committee is expected to submit its first preliminary diagnostic report to the minister and the ATNS board by the end of January.
The report is expected to provide a comprehensive analysis of the problems affecting the ATNS and recommend sustainable solutions. The committee will also assist the ATNS executive management in implementing its recommendations, once approved by the minister and the ATNS board.
With Carin Smith
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