Dispute over Mbalula’s hesitancy

The Western Cape has declared an intergovernmental dispute over the department of transport’s silence on a request for Delta Air Lines to fly a triangular route from Atlanta in the US via Johannesburg and Cape Town.

Western Cape MEC for finance and economic opportunities David Maynier says he is alarmed at the continued silence of Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula over the province’s request to urgently grant the US airline the right to fly a triangular route.

“As far back as May 2021, I wrote to the minister to request that Delta Air Lines’ application to operate a triangular route between Atlanta-Johannesburg-Cape Town be processed urgently, precisely because tourism is a significant contributor to job creation and economic growth in the Western Cape,” says Maynier in a statement.

Seven le ers sent

Over six months, no fewer than seven letters were sent to the minister with “no substantive response” received, adds Maynier.

An intergovernmental dispute was declared on 25 November 2021, to which the minister replied on 21 February, asking for more time. Maynier says he acceded to an additional 15 days, which expired on Wednesday.

An aviation analyst who asked not to be named says it remains unclear why the department has not granted the request to allow Delta the route.

The department’s previously stated position is that airlines may not service two airport terminals on a single service.

Joburg favoured?

“There is a clear policy to promote OR Tambo ... as the preferred international hub in South Africa, and that’s what Cape Town is running into,” says the analyst.

“Unlike in other countries where individual airports are free to negotiate individual tariffs with airlines, all such negotiations in SA are taken care of by the regulator.

“The danger in taking a hardline stance with Delta is that international air travel rules are reciprocal. South African airlines flying abroad could find themselves being blocked from flying triangular routes in the US, for example.”

United Airlines and Delta are competing for the remaining slots available to US airlines under a bilateral air services agreement.