Pretoria - The City of Tshwane’s Wonderboom national airport has regained its Category 5 status after it was downgraded to Category 2 for failing to comply with the South African Civil Aviation Authority’s aerodrome licence regulations.
The Pretoria News previously reported that poor management and inability to appoint a manager were among factors that attributed to the airport’s non-compliance with regulations.
In the past, the metro was embroiled in litigation from the appointment of a private company to manage the airport, instead of hiring a manager in line with its by-laws. The appointment landed the metro in hot water with the aviation authority.
The then roads and transport MMC Sheila Senkubuge, however, claimed the metro was not in the wrong as it had given the authority reasons why it veered from the licence requirements.
The City was taken to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, by the Wonderboom Airport Interest Group, which successfully challenged the appointment of Ntiyiso Consulting to manage the airport.
The group obtained an interim order for the suspension of Ntiyiso after it argued that the company lacked experience in the aviation industry.
Part of its legal bid was to get the city to appoint a “properly qualified airport manager” to run the airport.
In 2018, Airlink withdrew its service to run flights between Pretoria and Cape Town due to the alleged mismanagement.
This week, incumbent MMC for Roads and Transport Katlego Mathebe celebrated the news that the airport had successfully upgraded its aerodrome licence status from Category 2 to 5. She said the aerodrome licence’s upgrade followed the outcome of the recent three-month oversight audit by the SA Civil Aviation Authority.
“The airport’s administrative systems, operational procedures, infrastructure, serviceability of aeronautical facilities and equipment, security measures and other aviation elements went above the minimum thresholds of civil aviation standards and were all found ultra satisfactory by SA Civil Aviation Authority,” Mathebe said.
She said the city was pleased with SA Civil Aviation Authority’s decision to grant the airport a status commensurate with the structure of the administration and condition of the aeronautical infrastructure, facilities and equipment “availed to the flying public at the highest levels of quality, safety and security”.
Pretoria News