Aviation crisis: urgent action needed as South Africa’s air traffic system breaks down

In South Africa’s skies, a crisis is unfolding — planes are grounded, flight delays are on the increase, and safety warnings from airlines and industry experts continue to grow.

In a press conference on Monday this week, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy acknowledged the challenges as well as the findings of a damning expert report that she commissioned late last year, and advised that an urgent action plan was in motion to solve the crisis over the coming months.

Read more: Aviation experts make ‘damning findings’ against SOE responsible for air traffic in SA skies

“Recurring findings in audits and inspections had not been addressed in a timely manner… There is a process to implement remedial measures on all high-risk findings, which was concluded by the end of February, and medium-risk events will be attended to by the end of March,” said Creecy at the briefing.

However, with challenges so deeply entrenched at Air Traffic & Navigation Services, it may not be possible to achieve these goals, adding risk to flights in the country as well as risking sanction by the International Civil Aviation Organization.

An anatomy of failure — how the system broke down

ATNS, a government entity under the Department of Transport, is responsible for managing South Africa’s air traffic systems and personnel. For years, a slow but steady deterioration of institutional capacity has left ATNS unable to fulfil its mandate.

Brain drain and mismanagement have been at the core of the failure. Highly trained staff have been poached by international markets, with Qatar, the UAE, and Australia offering significantly higher salaries. ATNS’ internal recruitment lags behind the outflow of talent, with new hires taking between 18 months and three years to become fully operational.

The situation has been exacerbated by failures in critical infrastructure. The communication, navigation, and surveillance systems — the backbone of air traffic management — have become unreliable due to years of neglect and delayed upgrades.

Most damningly, 326 instrument flight procedures were suspended by the SA Civil Aviation Authority in 2024 because ATNS failed to file mandatory regulatory reviews on time.

Without these procedures, pilots are forced to rely solely on visual flight rules in bad weather — a risk that significantly increases operational hazards.

Warnings ignored

While these challenges are systemic, they did not emerge overnight. Industry stakeholders and experts have been sounding the alarm for years. The South African Civil Aviation Authority raised serious concerns in both 2023 and 2024, repeatedly granting regulatory extensions to give ATNS time to correct its course. Those deadlines came and went, with no meaningful action taken.

Creecy has now confirmed a final extension to Thursday, 10 April 2025. If compliance is not achieved by that date, major airports, airlines, staff, and passengers will face significant operational and safety risks.

Airlines, too, have not remained silent. Between July and October 2024, one airline reported 3,892 delayed flights, 77 cancellations, and 12 diversions — the equivalent of 63 full days of lost flight time.

Read more: Mayday! Serial SA flight delays expose systemic air traffic failures that threaten aviation safety

Airlines Association of Southern Africa CEO Aaron Munetsi said in a public statement on 5 December 2024: “This is an untenable situation. The aviation sector cannot function if the air traffic authority is unable to meet the most basic operational standards.”

He also pointed out that a cyber breach at the SA Weather Service (SAWS) in January further disrupted the provision of aviation weather observations and forecasts that are mission critical for flights.

At the end of January this year, Munetsi further said: “Airlines and passengers pay statutory user charges to the various state aviation agencies for the provision of reliable, safe and efficient and affordable services. However, Airlines Association of Southern Africa is concerned that Airports Company SA, Air Traffic & Navigation Services and the SA Weather Service applied to their respective economic regulators for new tariff increases when they have been unable to provide the full range of the services that they have been paid for. At the same time the airlines are bearing the brunt in terms of ensuring that they meet their commitments to their customers by having to provide alternatives for disrupted operations.”

FlySafair CEO Elmar Conradie, speaking at an aviation industry forum in Johannesburg on Thursday, 13 March 2025 warned that the cancellation of flights to King Phalo Airport due to procedural failures was a direct consequence of ATNS’ mismanagement. 

“Passengers and airlines should not bear the consequences of regulatory failures. ATNS was warned about these risks months ago and still failed to act,” said Conradie.

How did we get here?

Despite ATNS’ budget increasing year-on-year, essential investments in infrastructure, training, and personnel retention were not made. Budget allocations for ATNS rose from R2.8-billion in 2021 to R4.1-billion in 2024, yet ATNS failed to implement planned system upgrades and did not meet key regulatory deadlines. The destination of these funds remains unclear, leading to calls for a forensic audit into the entity's financial management.

Leadership instability has also played a major role. ATNS CEO Nosipho Mdawe was placed on precautionary suspension on Wednesday, 5 February 2025, pending an investigation into allegations of mismanagement.

With an interim leadership team in place, it remains uncertain whether ATNS can recover in time to meet its new April 2025 deadline.

What this means for you as a passenger

For the average traveller, ATNS’ failures mean more delays, higher risks, and potentially increased flight costs.

Flight delays and cancellations will probably persist at King Phalo, George, Upington, and Mthatha airports, where procedures remain suspended. Safety risks remain a concern, particularly in low-visibility conditions where instrument flight procedures are essential.

This is an immense risk to passengers, with pilots being forced to fly relying on visuals only should the instrument flight procedures be suspended.

Higher ticket prices may follow if ATNS raises operational fees to compensate for financial shortfalls.

If the International Civil Aviation Organization issues a safety warning against South Africa, international airlines may reconsider routes, further affecting connectivity and tourism.

Creecy has pledged to monitor ATNS  closely, but aviation leaders remain sceptical. The next few months will determine whether South Africa regains control of its airspace, or faces further international fallout. DM

This story has been updated to correct ATNS as Air Traffic & Navigation Service as opposed to the initially reported Air Traffic National Service.