The North West Department of Transport Management says it does not have enough funds to do maintenance on the Pilanesberg International Airport near Sun City.
This has resulted in the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) suspending certain air traffic navigation procedures at the airport, and downgrading the airport to Category 2.
Downgrading the airport means that the Instrumental Landing System (ILS) usually used when visibility is poor is suspended. However, planes will still be able to land in good weather and clear visual conditions.
SACAA earlier confirmed to News24 that, as part of its routine oversight activities, the Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS) was audited in line with the requirements of SA Civil Aviation Regulations.
The regulator found the ATNS was not compliant with maintaining each flight approval procedure as prescribed, the ATNS had to submit a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) demonstrating the mitigation of safety risks that emanates from this non-compliance.
While the SACAA found some of these mitigations acceptable, the ATNS had not submitted mitigation measures for all the affected procedures. As a result, the SACAA suspended those procedures until a satisfactory level of aviation safety was achieved.
However, The North West Head of the Department of Transport Management, Molefi Morule, said they have not received sufficient funds to address all the issues raised by SACAA.
“The Department has not received sufficient budget to attend to all issues that are raised, especially by SACAA, which governs issues of compliance with regards to airports. And once SACAA conducts a compliance inspection at airports and finds areas of non-compliance that affect the grading of the airport and it was downgraded to category 2. But that does not mean that it is completely non-functional,” Morule said.
The North West Department of Transport Management Director for Transport, Olebogeng Baikgaki said SACAA downgraded the airport and the department is now required to implement mitigation measures.
“Currently category 2 only permits the landing of small aircraft. We are now required to do the following: training of staff personnel, improving the airport ground lighting system, the rehabilitation of the runway, attending the crash alarm system, and the fire simulator,” said Baikgaki.
The department said it requires more than 250 million rands to operate the Pilanesberg International Airport and is in talks with investors that include Sun City Resort, to help renovate it.
