Transport minister Barbara Creecy has ordered the board of the Airports Company SA (Acsa) to enter into mediation with the company that provides baggage handling services at its airports.
Acsa has been in a dispute with Airports Coordination Services (ACS) over hold baggage screening (HBS) and other services. The dispute, which also involves the SA Civil Aviation Authority (Saaca), has resulted in multiple review applications, interdictory proceedings, and related appeal proceedings in the high court.
The minister’s order also instructs Acsa to submit a report within two weeks setting out the total costs incurred in relation to the dispute to date, including a detailed breakdown of all the legal fees, disbursements, and any other associated expenses borne by the state.
The dispute arose because ACS indicated in May 2023 that it intended to take over HBS. ACS approached the courts to review and set aside Acsa’s decision, which included the issuing of a R3.15bn tender for HBS equipment.
ACS argued that it was the airlines, and not ACSA as the aerodrome operator, that were responsible for providing HBS services at airports and that ACS was legally mandated by them to operate and manage the equipment. It says it has provided uninterrupted, efficient and cost-effective HBS operations at Acsa airports for more than 20 years.
In November the court granted ACS permission to replace baggage handling equipment at OR Tambo and King Shaka international airports pending the outcome of its court application and in May dismissed an appeal by Acsa and Saaca against this order.
Creecy issued her order under the Airports Company Act, which empowers the minister to take necessary steps to safeguard national security where a risk to critical infrastructure, public safety or the national interest has been identified.
“I am concerned about the negative impact the protracted litigation could have on the integrity and reliability of hold baggage screening as the first line of defence against threats in the aviation system at Acsa’s airports,” Creecy said in a statement on Thursday. “I am satisfied that intervention is necessary to prevent potential disruption, compromise of national security, and reputational harm.”
Creecy said she had engaged with the Acsa board to find an amicable solution to the dispute.
The objective of mediation would be to reach a settlement within the parameters of the applicable regulatory framework that avoided a protracted legal dispute and safeguarded national security.
In terms of Creecy’s order, the Acsa board has been ordered to finalise and execute a mediation agreement that should include a number of terms of reference.
These include transitional measures to ensure the continued and efficient functioning of the HBS screening system at Acsa’s airports in the short term and its compliance with regulatory and international frameworks and safety standards. It should also include terms as to whether ACS/Acsa can or should install any HBS maintenance-related equipment, including backup units.
The mediation process should also address the long-term issues related to the provision of service of HBS and its maintenance, compliance with the applicable regulatory frameworks, budgetary and fiscal constraints, the safety of passengers who use Acsa’s airports, potential revision of agreements and the commercial relations between the parties.
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