Note to Editors: Please see attached soundbites in English and Afrikaans by Dr Chris Hunsinger MP
The DA will request an urgent Parliamentary Portfolio Committee hearing on the ongoing and growing breakdowns of service at South Africa’s major airports. Minister Creecy and the senior management of ACSA must be called to report to committee on the scope of the brewing crisis, and their plans to address it.
It is unacceptable that flights are being grounded at South African airports due to failures by entities within the Department of Transport. It simply cannot continue.
This week, flights were delayed and diverted at Cape Town International Airport due to a fuel pump failure under the management of Airports Company South Africa (ACSA). Earlier this month, alarming reports revealed that ACSA has fuel supply at OR Tambo International Airport only until the end of January 2025, raising grave concerns about operational stability in February.
Minister Creecy’s interventions in the aviation sector are falling woefully short, and we believe it is high time for plans to move forward from patch-up repairs to systemic improvement and upgrades. Patch-up jobs will not keep our airports running in the long term.
Creecy should bring the country and its economy that needs functioning airports into her confidence about how she and ACSA will restore order at our airports.
We will hold her accountable and ensure that solutions are implemented.
The instability at our airports undermines business confidence and it cannot continue.
Last year, during critical peak tourist season, repeated failures by Air Traffic Navigation Services (ATNS) disrupted flights and cost South Africa much-needed tourism revenue.
We cannot allow this pattern of incompetence to hamstring our economy further. Every grounded plane represents lost revenue, weakened investor confidence, and damage to South Africa’s global reputation.
Minister Creecy and her Department must act urgently and decisively to restore stability in the aviation sector, or else all South Africans will suffer the consequences of her inaction.