Air Access To Lodges Restored Ahead Of Busy Easter

Progress has been made in restoring air access to private safari lodges ahead of the busy Easter weekend as the South African Civil Aviation Authority SACAA works through a high volume of applications from aerodrome operators who had to suspend operations due to non-compliance with new regulations.

The regulations, gazetted on March28, require all aerodromes and heliports conducting commercial air transport operations to be certified, licensed or approved. Non-compliance forced a halt to charter and shuttle flights servicing many private reserves and lodges across the country.

Nicole Schickerling , Commercial GM: Shuttle for Federal Airlines FedAir, said the SACAA has been making headway in issuing approvals, working in close collaboration with the private aviation sector.

As a result of this joint commitment, we have successfully received several key aerodrome approvals ensuring safer operations within the industry something that we all prioritise, said Schickerling.

Many of these approvals have come through in the past few days, enabling us to resume flights to select destinations in time for the busy Easter period.