Transport Minister Barbara Creecy has urged the Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS) to prioritise the safety of passengers over expedience this upcoming peak season.

She made the remarks during the bi-weekly meeting between the ATNS and the aviation industry on Thursday.

In the meeting, the ATNS provided a progress report on the implementation of the instrument flight procedure comprehensive plan and also presented their state of readiness for the upcoming peak season.

‘On peak season plans, the ATNS indicated that plans are underway to submit all urgent procedures in time to coordinate approval by South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) and for operational use by the end of November 2024.

‘The entity also revealed that all other procedures operating under alternative means of compliance (AMOC) or exemptions will be valid during this period.

‘In addition, ATNS assured the meeting that it was continuously reviewing the project plan to ensure that the critical procedures are available during
the peak season,’ the Department of Transport said on Friday.

Progress on technical skills capacity sourcing was provided as follows:

The current capacity of Flight Procedure Designers is sitting at six people, with two full time employees and four contractors.

Four contractors have been appointed after assessment and validation by SACAA.

The four contractors have been allocated work, mainly on the prioritised Airports.

A fifth contractor is undergoing onboarding and validation process.

ATNS is currently engaging two more service providers, with the intention of having a total of seven contractors on board.

In addition, five ATNS trainees are undergoing on-the-job training and should be ready by March 2025.

Source: South African Government News Agency