By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
South Africa’s air traffic management and air traffic control agency, Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS), has released an update on its progress regarding the maitenance of Instrument Flight Procedures (IFPs) at the country’s airports.
ATNS, a government entity under the Department of Transport, is responsible for managing South Africa’s air traffic systems and personnel.
For years, a slow but steady deterioration of institutional capacity has left ATNS unable to fulfil its mandate.
Highly trained staff have been poached by international markets, with Qatar, the UAE, and Australia offering significantly higher salaries. ATNS’ internal recruitment lags behind the outflow of talent, with new hires taking between 18 months and three years to become fully operational.
The situation has been exacerbated by failures in critical infrastructure. The communication, navigation, and surveillance systems — the backbone of air traffic management — have become unreliable due to years of neglect and delayed upgrades.
Most damningly, 326 instrument flight procedures were suspended by the SA Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) in 2024 because ATNS failed to file mandatory regulatory reviews on time.
Without these procedures, pilots are forced to rely solely on visual flight rules in bad weather — a risk that significantly increases operational hazards.
ATNS, in collaboration with the ministerial intervention team appointed by the transport minister Barbara Creecy, has prioritised the maintenance of critical IFPs to ensure key network airports are equipped with essential approach procedures.
IFPs are essential flight safety systemsfor aircraft approaching and landing at airports in bad weather and/or poor visibility. To be usable, they must not only be properly maintained, but they must then also be checked and approved by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA).
To date, SACAA has approved IFPs for eight airports. These are OR Tambo International Airport (Johannesburg), Cape Town International Airport, King Shaka International Airport (Durban), Chief Dawie Stuurman International Airport (Port Elizabeth), Polokwane International Airport, Lanseria International Airport, George Airport, and King Phalo Airport (East London).
But three airports have not yet had maitenance done on their IFPs and so these procedures have been suspended at these airports. These are Richards Bay Airport, Upington Airport, and Bram Fischer International Airport (Bloemfontein). “These airports will only be accessible during visual meteorological conditions, with no access permitted during poor visibility,” admitted ATNS.
ATNS spokesperson Percy Morokane said, ATNS would prioritise the maintenance of procedures at these airports to ensure operations during adverse weather conditions could be restored as soon as possible.
Ten air traffic controllers have accepted job offers and will join the organisation progressively over the next few months, augmenting capacity to deliver on the commitment to airspace safety and efficiency.