Tourism on ice, aviation freezes

● If SA’s border closure extends into the summer season, when tens of thousands of tourists usually flock to the country, the aviation sector will be in extreme peril.

The warning was sounded by aviation experts in the wake of slumping revenues reported by the Airports Company SA and Air Traffic & Navigation Services (ATNS).

“We’ve got less than a month before the start of the [travel] season,” said aviation consultant Linden Birns. “If our industry wants to have any kind of harvest, the borders need to be opened.”

While the move to level 2 of the lockdown boosted domestic flights, traffic levels are still in the doldrums and will not sustain an industry that relies heavily on providing feeder flights for international arrivals.

Even as commercial aviation suffers, trade union Solidarity claimed ATNS board members are in line to receive salary increases.

“The increases were requested via a motivation to the [transport] minister in May,” said union representative Derek Mans.

ATNS acknowledged that a “significant decline in revenue has occurred” but denied its directors had received pay rises.

The company, which has 1,200 staff, provides navigation services to aircraft and charges fees for overflights and approaches.

Its revenues have slumped by as much as 88% over the past year, according to reports.

Transport minister Fikile Mbalula said in June that ATNS would need government help. “The worldwide aviation sector has been severely impacted by the pandemic; ours has not been an exception,” he wrote.

ATNS had not received any government assistance to date, said spokesperson Percy Morokane. “For now, ATNS is able to survive amid a challenging operating and market environment and through austerity measures implemented.”