Creecy says work being done to stabilise Air Traffic Navigation Services
Creecy met with the ATNS board and management on Monday to discuss issues that led to flight delays at various airports.
FILE: Transport Minister Barbara Creecy. Picture: Department of Transport/@Dotransport on X
JOHANNESBURG - Transport Minister Barbara Creecy said that work was being done to stabilise the Air Traffic Navigation Services (ATNS) after a range of inefficiencies were flagged at the state-owned company.
Creecy met with the ATNS board and management on Monday to discuss issues that led to flight delays at various airports.
The intervention also comes after the precautionary suspension of the company’s CEO, Nozipho Mdawe, last week pending an investigation into claims that she dropped the ball at the helm.
Creecy briefed the media on the outcomes of the meeting on Monday.
The Air Traffic Navigation Services (ATNS) has faced critical staffing shortages and struggles with navigation systems that are not reliable.
That added to poor infrastructure at some airports, has left commuters frustrated by endless delays.
Disruptions to the air network has also had ripple effects on the country’s economy, especially where tourism is affected.
Last year, the company also began maintenance related to instrument flight procedures, including about 66 set to expire in three weeks.
"We don’t think that all these would be ready by the 8th of April, so what we have done is submitting to the civil aviation authority an application to give a limited extension on the alternative means of compliance on these 35 priority procedures," said Transport Minister Barbara Creecy.
The expansion would apply to procedures at the main airports, including OR Tambo, Cape Town International and King Shaka.
A separate extension would apply to other affected airports, including Polokwane and Richards Bay.