PLETTENBERG BAY - Plettenberg Bay Airport has run into headwinds with questions being asked about who will pay a R46,5 million bill to fix the runway.

No decision has been taken on closing the airport and there is no indication of how long the runway works will take.

The SA Civil Aviation Authority on 27 June issued a Level 1 notice (Notam) for the airport's runway to undergo investigation into its safety.

On 28 June, in a "secret" in-committee council meeting, the Bitou municipality discussed the airport issue.

Subsequent developments and the fallout have raised suspicions, particularly among the DA caucus in the council, and others, on the timing and talk of closing the airport.

"Contract

This despite a contract with new airport operators Garden Route Aero (GRA), who should have taken over operations on 1 July, which said the "deal" for the airport was to be "voetstoots" (meaning the new operators took over the airport as is).

A joint statement by Bitou municipality and Garden Route Aero (GRA), updated on Tuesday 9 June, made no mention of the airport closing.

"Following its successful bid earlier this year, airport developer, Garden Route Aero (GRA), a subsidiary of rsa.AERO, has in terms of its agreement commenced a transition and handover process with the Bitou municipality for the management of the Plettenberg Bay Airport.

"The transition process includes numerous airport-related activities ranging from contractual reviews, operational planning, and civil infrastructure audits.

"During, and as part of the handover process, technical experts, engineers, and the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) have raised observations of structural deterioration in the runway.

"Pavement specialists are required to conduct a detailed assessment of the pavement infrastructure and to confirm what remedial work is required on the runway. Consultations are currently taking place with the scheduled airline, CemAir and the general aviation fraternity to assess the impact on airport operations.

"We will work closely with the pavement specialists to ensure a positive outcome. The safety of our patrons and passengers are important to us," said Manqoba Boy Ngubo, acting chief financial officer for Bitou municipality.

"While we are unable at this stage to confirm how long the runway works will continue, we will prioritise the runway assessment and any works required to minimise disruption," said Deidre Davids, spokesperson for GRA. "We will continue to work closely with all of the role-players," added Davids.

On 1 July the licence for the airport was still held by Bitou municipality.

CemAir, the only commercial airline presently using Plettenberg Bay Airport for scheduled flights, started cancelling flights on Tuesday 2 July after being told about the possible imminent closure of the airport, due to the runway conditions, following the SACAA inspection.

Miles van der Molen, CEO of CemAir, said on Tuesday 2 July CemAir was informed that "it was expected that the airport would be closed from the following day".

"We began cancelling flights as a result. On Wednesday 3 July, we were informed that the airport and the CAA had agreed to a plan whereby consultants would be appointed by the end of the month and a further plan for the repairs would follow thereafter.

"Unfortunately to reinstate the cancelled flights would have resulted in further inconvenience, so those flights remain cancelled.

"We rely on information from the airport and BM (municipality) for our planning and we can only react once information is received. We receive little correspondence from BM and the new airport lessee (GRA) is still in the process of taking over the operation.

"This has left us in a difficult position," said Van der Molen.

Concerns around airport

DA councillor Bill Nel, who, as chairman of the Bitou strategic services portfolio committee, has been linked to the airport tender and contract award process, said he was concerned that he had been kept in the dark about the recent developments around the possible enforced closure of Plettenberg Bay Airport by the SACAA.

At the centre of this is the fact that the airport issue was discussed in a secret, "in-committee" meeting of the Bitou council on 28 June.

Further suspicions have now also been raised after the "in-committee" meeting.

Issues raised are the timing and a question about whether the Bitou municipality will be liable for the R46,5m repair bill for the airport's runway and apron.

Why now?

This was a question asked by Steve Pattinson, chairman of the Hangar Owners' Association, who said authorities did not have to wait to undertake an investigation into the condition of the runway.

"The joint statement by Bitou municipality and GRA shows that once the assessment has been made and clarity has been received on the extent of the repairs, an informed decision can be made about the actual closing dates of the airport, should this be necessary," said Pattinson.

In his capacity as chairman of Ratepayers' Association, Pattinson said: "We need to ensure that Bitou does not assume a greater liability than necessary to get the licence transferred from Bitou to GRA."

Other facts that have raised eyebrows include the "in-committee" discussion on the matter.

This was found problematic by DA councillor Nel who has been actively involved in the airport lease contract.

•A grade 5 Aerodrome licence extension was granted by the SACAA to Bitou municipality in February this year, after an inspection by the SACAA, and extended to March 2025;

•The tender and lease agreement was issued on a "voetstoots" basis - meaning the municipality would not be held liable for the cost of the repairs;

•Various inspections of the runway were made before the tender was issued - and intensively done since the tender process by GRA;

•There is no indication of what the "nebulous" mitigation measures will include, and how long it will take to establish;

•The voetstoots clause in the agreement legally implies that all latent defects will not be the responsibility of the municipality;

•The responsibility to fund the required repairs for "mitigation measures to prevent further structural deterioration of the runway surface" has not been legally determined and it can, at this time, not be legally concluded that the municipality is responsible for this cost;

•The immediate assumption by selected officials that Bitou municipality will be responsible for the cost of mitigation measures, without proper legal advice, is suspect;

•The new ANC-led coalition in Bitou should be up-front with the public about what is going on at the airport and lift the "veil of secrecy" that enshrouds the process, said Nel.

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