Plettenberg Bay Airport closed indefinitely

The airport serving the popular beach town of Plettenberg Bay has been closed down by aviation authorities.

Plettenberg Bay Airport has been shut by the South African Civil Aviation Authority. They issued a notice to Bitou Municipality suspending its airport license with immediate effect, as of 31 July. The runway safety is the main concern.

Legal and Compliance officer Mtsweni, informed the Bitou municipality that Plettenberg Bay Airport’s Operating License had been suspended. The municipality had the right to appeal against the decision.

The Bitou Municipality has convened to discuss the matter and has passed a motion to attend to the condition of runway. A team of municipal directors is to negotiate the terms of a new agreement to find the best method to repair the runway .

Cem Air has suspended all its flights to and from the town. The CEO Miles van der Molen said that affected passengers would be accommodated on flights to George Airport. Cem Air was the only airline offering commercial services to Plettenberg Bay Airport.

South Africa is currently experiencing a series of setbacks in its aviation space in recent times. Air Traffic Navigation Services (ATNS) suspended procedures for all instrument-navigation flight approaches at several airports over a week ago. The airports include George, Kimberley, Polokwane, Mthatha and Richards Bay. Under this suspension, pilots are still permitted to perform visual approaches in favourable weather conditions..  

Passengers travelling to George should be aware that flights into that airport are in fact mostly likely to be affected. This is because weather conditions at George often do not allow for aircraft to land safely using visual approaches. ATNS explained that it was in fact conducting a maintenance program for instrument flight procedures at various airports in South Africa. Flights to smaller airports in South Africa are likely to be impacted by the suspension of instrument-navigation approaches.

ATNS says it will try its best to complete this maintenance speedily, to reduce effects for airlines and passengers.