Update

PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - A tender, which will see the future of Plettenberg Bay's airport take off with a bang, has been issued by Bitou Muncipality seeking bidders to run the airport. 

If the municipality strikes the right deal, it will lessen the financial burden on ratepayers - and even see a flow into the municipal coffers. It will help to secure Plett's future as a tourism hub along the Garden Route.

The successful bidder will be required to provide funding for the upgrade of essential top structures, including a new passenger terminal, extended runway and an expanded apron. 

The tender document also makes provision for the upgrade of fire, rescue and emergency service standards. Potentially, says the bid document, passenger numbers could increase from 30 000 a year to almost 150 000 by 2050 - if the airport is upgraded to industry standards.

The tender will be valid for 30 years and applications closed on Monday 21 August.

A welcome issue

The Plett Ratepayers and Residents' Association has welcomed the issuing of the tender. 

"We are pleased that this process is finally underway and are hopeful of a successful bidder who will be committed to investing in both commercial and general aviation in Plettenberg Bay," said Steve Pattinson, chairman of the PBRRA. 

He added that in the meantime the local private pilots and hangar owners have formed a flying club.

"They have taken over the maintenance of the general aviation area at their own cost and have repaired roads, fixed the security gate and are cutting the grass regularly," said Pattinson. He also mentioned that the tender allows for compliance with the SA Civil Aviation Regulations through essential infrastructure improvements required to the runway, aprons and fire services of the airport.

Past failures

The tender document says many attempts were made in the past to revitalise the airport, but most were unsuccessful. This was mainly because they did not provide for the effective transfer of operational and developmental risk to a new investor and attempted to retain the airport as a municipal service run by outsourced contractors. 

This was an inherently inappropriate institutional model according to the document.

In 2022 the Bitou Council sought to tackle this issue "once and for all", by passing an important resolution in terms of the Municipal Finance Management Act. The resolutions confirmed that the municipality would no longer operate the airport as a municipal service and that the land on which the airport is located is not required for the delivery of basic municipal services.

"In so doing, council removed the airport from the jurisdiction of the Municipal Systems Act, particularly Chapter 8, sections 76,77 and 78, and is now free to determine its future under the asset transfer regulations of the MFMA, along with National Treasury," the tender reads.

A key chance for growth

The tender specifications document, which accompanied the tender, identified some gaps in Airports Company of South Africa's catchments, "where a few local airports add valuable socio-economic benefits to local communities to support the tourism industry and sustain local jobs". It says Plettenberg Bay Airport is one of these.

"An improved airport will serve a large portion of the Garden Route market in Plettenberg Bay, Knysna and their environs and if growth is sustained, will create up to 2 000 local jobs." Scheduled services to Plettenberg Bay have been provided intermittently since 1994 because the operating model makes it difficult to meet industry compliance standards with low traffic and insufficient budget.

Growth has been constrained, service was irregular and the current service - with high ticket prices - does not fully unlock the latent demand potential. 

"The airport remains at risk of non-compliance with SACAA (South African Civil Aviation Authority) safety standards and there is inadequate provision for maintenance and improvement," said the document.

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