Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS) has announced that multiple instrument flight procedures at airports in Gqeberha, Polokwane and Mpumalanga are suspended while they undergo maintenance.
Mphilo Dlamini, ATNS Head of Corporate Affairs and Communications, told Travel News that the validity period of the affected procedures expired last week.
“Instrument flight procedures are supposed to be updated after five years. Various procedures reach their validity period at different times,” said Dlamini. “ATNS has since updated them and submitted them to SACAA for promulgation.”
At Gqeberha’s Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport, the instrument landing procedure for Runway 26 has been suspended. The suspended flight procedure is expected to be promulgated and re-implemented for operations by November 27.
At Polokwane and Kruger Mpumalanga International Airports, several flight procedures have been suspended as part of ATNS’s ongoing instrument flight procedure maintenance programme.
The procedure submissions for the airports were further delayed as ATNS was awaiting its Flight Procedure Design certification renewal. It was recertified on October 13 and has since resubmitted all procedures for approval.
ATNS warned that while the procedures were suspended, the airports could face flight delays and diversions, particularly during poor weather conditions.
