Transport minister Barbara Creecy has established a committee of aviation experts to get to the bottom of problems plaguing South Africa’s Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS).
Difficulties at ATNS have led to the suspension of flights at 11 airports, which were found to not meet the periodic maintenance standards procedures specified by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and civil aviation regulations. ATNS is responsible for certifying these procedures, which include standard instrument departures and standard arrival routes.
The experts on the three-person committee are chairperson Wrenelle Stander, an executive with over 30 years of experience in the aviation and energy industries, 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.
Business Day reported earlier that the ATNS suspended hundreds of navigation procedures at airports nationwide on July 19 after failing to meet a deadline to check whether their procedures were still accurate, and to amend any that were not.
This meant pilots had to rely on their skills and other navigation methods, which can be tricky and can cause delays and cancellations, especially in bad weather.
Creecy has asked the committee of experts to submit a preliminary diagnostic report by the end of January with suggestions on what should be done.
[Image: Danilo Bueno from Pixabay]