South Africa’s airlines facing disaster

Government inefficiency and mismanagement are making air travel in South Africa increasingly dangerous and expensive, hampering a vital driver of economic growth. 

This is most apparent in South Africa’s shortage of air-traffic controllers and the suspension of hundreds of instrument flight procedures. 

In some cases, this results in planes being unable to land at specific times, creating significant delays and increasing the chances of an accident. 

Some of this is due to the high demand for locally-trained air-traffic controllers, as international operators tend to provide more lucrative pay. 

However, a large part of it is down to government mismanagement, with the Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS) failing to update key procedures. 

Centre for Risk Analysis executive director Chris Hattingh explained that this deterioration in service delivery will have substantial economic consequences. 

While the main impact of the current failures is to make airline travel in South Africa unnecessarily expensive, it may result in an unfortunate incident in the future. 

Since December 2024, more than 200 instrument flight procedures at South African airports have been suspended. 

These procedures are typically pre-planned, published instructions for aircraft flying under instrument flight rules to guide pilots through navigation and obstacle avoidance during takeoffs and landings. 

These regulations are vital for safe flight in low visibility and for the functioning of a safe aviation system. 

The ATNS is responsible for updating these procedures in South Africa, which should be done every five years. With 200 suspended, when weather conditions are unfavourable, pilots are unable to land at some of South Africa’s airports. 

Hattingh explained that this particularly impacts smaller airports, which are vital for tourism, such as the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport. 

These airports have been the most impacted by outdated procedures, with the local domestic aviation industry losing R30 million per month in additional fuel burn alone, as pilots have to fly to different airports to land in bad weather.

The additional costs are passed onto passengers, raising ticket prices and creating reputational damage to South African airlines. 

Over the weekend of 18 October and into the following week, for Airlink alone, 4,000 passengers were affected, with 2,300 passengers’ flights cancelled. 

Economic disaster

Aviation in South Africa has often been dismissed as a luxury that is only used by the richest in society and, thus, does not have much of a bearing on the economy. 

However, it has proven to be a crucial driver of economic growth through tourism and hospitality, often linking larger international airports to tourist hotspots in the Kruger and Pilanesberg, for example. 

It is also vital for business travel between the economic hubs of Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Durban, often termed the ‘Golden Triangle’.

Airline Association of Southern Africa CEO Aaron Munetsi urged the government to respond to the looming crisis created by mismanagement at the ATNS. 

“The failure to design, manage, and maintain airspace cannot be dismissed as an inconvenience,” Munetsi told the association’s 55th annual assembly. 

“It needs to be seen for what it is – an economic disaster which demands a commensurate emergency disaster response.”

Apart from the suspension of hundreds of procedures, the local industry is also grappling with a lack of air-traffic controllers. 

ATNS chairman Zola Majavu said the organisation continues to struggle to fill key positions, particularly air-traffic controllers. 

Majavu warned that this will begin to impact service delivery if the exodus of these individuals to other countries continues. 

Locally-trained controllers are sought-after internationally and the outflow of experienced personnel has outpaced the capacity of the country’s training pipeline. 

Majavu said international providers offer remuneration and other incentives that the ATNS cannot match, resulting in skilled individuals leaving. 

“This signals a department-specific crisis beyond typical organisational turnover patterns,” he said. “It is both a challenge and a strategic priority requiring immediate attention and sustained intervention.”

The company has launched an accelerated recruitment drive for vital roles, including air-traffic service personnel, flight procedure designers and engineers. 

“This also involves encouraging previous ATNS employees to return to South Africa to bridge the current expertise gap within an 18-month to three-year time frame,” Majavu said.

The firm said 86 employees left the company in the year that ended March 2025, with 50 of these from the air-traffic services division.