Airlink said it regrets to confirm the severe disruption of its scheduled air services to and from Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (KMIA), Pietermaritzburg, Richards Bay and Mthatha, South Africa.
Airlink said the disruptions, are attributable to the failure of South Africa’s Air Traffic Navigation Services (ATNS) to timeously maintain the validity of those airports’ instrument flight procedures (IFPs).
“Airlink is doing everything possible to get customers to their intended destinations as quickly as possible with the minimum inconvenience. Under normal circumstances our flights to and from these destinations would be permitted to operate in the present summer weather. However, the suspension of the IFPs places severe limitations on flights,” explained Airlink CEO, de Villiers Engelbrecht.
ATNS indefinitely suspended 226 IFPs across South Africa in July 2024 when it missed a deadline to complete the paperwork to renew their validity. Over 200 of these remain withdrawn. It suspended additional IFPs last weekend, primarily affecting KMIA.
As a result, the airline explained, numerous flights have either been delayed, diverted or cancelled, affecting over 3000 passengers – including many tourists visiting the Kruger National Park and other prime tourist attractions in the Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal provinces.
According to Airlink, with more unfavourable weather forecast for the area, customers booked to fly to or from these destinations should contact Airlink or their travel agents for the latest status of their flights.
In commercial airline operations, pilots are legally obligated to follow IFPs, which are published charts with annotated instructions illustrating and describing the stipulated speeds, direction and altitudes aircraft should follow when taking off or approaching to land at an airport, Airlink stated.
