George flights likely to be most affected by ATNS restrictions

Passengers flying into George Airport should be aware that flights to that airport are likely to be affected by the latest ATNS flight procedure restrictions.

Air Traffic Navigation Services (ATNS) suspended procedures for all instrument navigation flights at several airports last Friday.

PERFORM MAINTENANCE

ATNS says it is conducting a maintenance programme for instrument flight procedures at several airports in South Africa.

Flights to smaller airports in the country may be affected by the suspension of instrument navigation approaches.

ATNS said it would do its best to complete this maintenance quickly to limit the impact on airlines and passengers. “To minimize the impact on safety and operational flight delays, we will accelerate operations to ensure the suspensions are lifted quickly,” the company said.

AFFECTED AIRPORTS

BusinessLive says 177 weekly flights will land at airports where instrument approaches have been suspended.

The airports include George, Kimberley, Polokwane, Mthatha and Richards Bay.

FLIGHT APPROACH RESTRICTIONS

In cloudy, foggy or rainy conditions, or at night, landing approaches are not permitted.

The cockpit crew shall not land the aircraft solely by reference to the aircraft’s navigation instruments.

However, under this suspension, pilots are still allowed to conduct visual approaches in favorable weather conditions.

DISTURBANCE OF GEORGE FLIGHTS

The suspension could indeed have serious consequences for scheduled flights landing at destinations where weather conditions are poor.

Of the airports where these approaches have been suspended, George Airport is probably the most affected due to the frequency of bad weather conditions there. The airport is managed by Airports Company South Africa (ACSA).

Airports in Kimberley, Polokwane, Mthatha and Richards Bay do not often experience bad weather conditions and are therefore less likely to be affected by bad weather conditions.

Airlines respond to ATNS suspensions

Airlines operating scheduled flights to George Airport have expressed concern over the suspension.

Miles van der Molen, CEO of Cemair, said the impact of the ATNS suspensions could be significant.

He said Cemair flights to George would likely be the hardest hit as the city often experiences bad weather conditions.

Kirby Gordon, FlySafair’s Chief Marketing Officer, is also concerned about the impact of the bad weather on flights to George.

“We are concerned because this limits our ability to land in weather conditions that we would normally be able to land in,” Gordon said.

OFFER TO HELP ATNS

Airlink, which also operates flights to George Airport, said ATNS procedures were taking longer than expected.

The airline’s CEO, Rodger Foster, said Airlink is willing to assist ATNS in finding experts who can help design the right procedures for these airports.

“Given the disruption to our services, the inconvenience to our customers and the likely economic damage to business, trade and tourism in those cities, Airlink has offered to assist ATNS in securing the services of international experts in airspace and approach procedure design so that it can expedite the assessment and reinstate or implement new, fully compliant procedures,” said Rodger Foster, CEO of Airlink.

ATNS has provided an update on the maintenance work, saying that there is likely to be a positive outcome as a result of the efforts.

Update: Maintenance of instrument flight procedures at various airports

It is important to emphasise that the maintenance programme has made significant progress and there is reasonable certainty of a positive outcome. #safeairhttps://t.co/7NSWOzvhql

—ATNS (@ATNSSA) July 20, 2024