Several flights have been cancelled at the Mthatha Airport since Thursday while the airport undergoes maintenance.
The maintenance work makes it more susceptible to inclement weather, forcing commuters to drive to King Phalo Airport in East London, about 250km away.
Transport department provincial spokesperson Unathi Binqose said this was not a department issue.
“We feel travellers’ pain and frustration, but though this is inconvenient, it is all done in the interests of travellers’ safety and that of people living in and around the airport.
“The airport is closed not due to challenges in the department’s control but rather that of our partners responsible for air traffic control.
“A number of airports across the country are suffering the same fate.”
Two flights were cancelled on Tuesday.
A Dispatch reporter who wanted to book a flight to Johannesburg was told by Airlink officials that two flights had landed and departed on Tuesday but there was no guarantee that flights would be able to land and depart in Mthatha on Thursday.
Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS) head of corporate affairs and communications Mphilo Dlamini said: “No airport in SA has been closed as a result of ATNS’s Instrument Flight Procedure Maintenance Programme.
“There are instances where the safety of passengers and aircraft are prioritised.
“This is where an aircraft may not be able to land due to inclement weather conditions at an airport where the ATNS Instrument Flight Procedure Maintenance Programme is under way.”
ATNS had announced the commencement of this programme in July.
Dlamini said in terms of International Civil Aviation Organisation and SA Civil Aviation Authority regulations, these procedures should be reviewed and updated on a five-year cycle, to meet advances in technology and safety.
“Since the programme started in July, ATNS has been sharing regular updates with all its key stakeholders, the aviation and tourism sectors, and the public on progress made.
“To date, a number of airports where procedures were suspended are now uplifted as a result of accelerated scheduled maintenance.
“Mthatha Airport is one of the affected airports and we are now working on submissions for approval and upliftment of the suspended instrument flight procedures.”
Flight delays and cancellations have infuriated travellers.
Eastern Cape Chamber of Business president Vuyisile Ntlabati said the chamber was disappointed.
“We fought very hard for this airport. B&Bs, hotels and fuel stations are now struggling to attract clients.
“It is causing a lot of damage and killing the economy. The business community is very concerned.”
Ntlabati said they had also tried to get another airline to service the airport because “this [Fly SA ] does not cater for everybody. Prices are exorbitant”.
“Premier Oscar Mabuyane was not even aware when we approached him. But he has promised to expedite the process to see it reopened again.”
Businesspeople wanting to travel to other provinces now had no choice but to go to East London to catch flights, which was expensive and a deterrent to potential investors in Mthatha.
Ntlabati said that according to their information the airport had been closed since July 20, though the airport was open for business on Tuesday.
“You have to go all the way to East London to meet investors. That means they could end up deciding to invest there if they cannot fly into Mthatha.
“We believe an opportunity missed is an opportunity wasted.”
OR Tambo Business Chamber secretary-general Dr Andile Nontso said: “We are shattered. It is killing this economy. This shows our district is uncared for.”
Phikolomzi Adonis, a college lecturer and ActionSA chair in the OR Tambo region, said that not only would the economy of Mthatha suffer, but the town was also an academic hub with two major institutions of learning.
People from surrounding towns also used the airport, while tourists used it to fly to the many tourism hotspots. This meant tourism numbers could be affected.
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