ATNS suspension of flight procedures cripples travel at Kruger International Airport

INSTRUMENT FLIGHT PROCEDURES

- BANELE GININDZA

AVIATION company Airlink has raised alarm over ATNS' recent suspension of additional IFPs affecting KMIA, compounding the impact of a broader nationwide suspension of 226 IFPs since July 2024. SUPPLIED

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THE Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS) says it could take at least two weeks to restore suspended Instrument Flight Procedures (IFPs) at Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (KMIA), a move that has severely disrupted air travel and tourism just as South Africa's holiday season begins to peak.

Aviation company Airlink has raised alarm over ATNS' recent suspension of additional IFPs affecting KMIA, compounding the impact of a broader nationwide suspension of 226 IFPs since July 2024. That suspension followed ATNS's failure to submit paperwork required to renew the procedures' validity, and more than 200 of those remain withdrawn.

The Kruger Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism (KLCBT) has echoed Airlink's concerns, warning that the ongoing suspensions-part of a mandatory recertification process under the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA)-have triggered widespread flight delays, diversions, and cancellations, disrupting the travel plans of thousands of passengers.