PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - The skies over Plett will soon be buzzing again with the sound of aircraft, following an agreement between Bitou municipality and Garden Route AERO on the way forward.

Contractual hitches that led to the closure of Plettenberg Bay Airport at the end of July have been resolved and some air traffic is expected to return to the airport. The airport has been closed since the end of July over safety issues involving the runway.

An addendum in council minutes on 30 August confirmed Garden Route AERO (Pty) Ltd (GRA), a subsidiary of rsa.Aero, as a party to the addendum, reflecting the agreement of sale of business and long-term development lease entered into with Bitou municipality.

Bitou will now contribute R5 million towards the repair of the runway after it failed to provide the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) with a "corrective plan for the runway within the prescribed time frame", that led to the SACAA suspending the municipality's airport licence for "non-compliance".

'Applying for licence'

The municipality then agreed to deregister its licence "to afford RSA Aero Limited the opportunity to begin the process to apply for its own licence".

Diedre Davids, spokesperson for GRA, said the licence in its name was "imminent".

"This means that Garden Route AERO will then assume full responsibility for all decision-making for the airport, which has not been the case to date.

"There has been some frustration due to the limitations we faced as we were not the licence holder for the airport. Once GRA gets its licence it will move forward with determination and vigour," said Davids.

"While it is good news that the general aviation activities will resume (Category 2 licence), the runway will unfortunately not be able to handle your larger commercial aircraft.

"This means that CemAir operations will still be suspended."

'Comprehensive solution'

Garden Route AERO can now expedite and prioritise all historical maintenance and backlog issues, "most notably fixing the runway".

Engineers have been appointed to determine the scope of works for the runway. Once the extent of the works is confirmed, there will be a clear indication of time implications, procurement requirements and construction.

"Our intention is to begin runway works as soon as possible, implementing a comprehensive solution that will ensure the runway's durability and performance for at least the next five years. This will avoid the need to revisit this issue in the near future," said Davids.

"Once the runway works are completed commercial scheduled services will be reintroduced."

The upgrade and extension of the runway will allow the airport to apply for a Category 5 licence.

'Fine balance'

Davids said a recent online media article had suggested that the runway will be able to accommodate Boeing 737s. "This is not correct."

"The intention is to strengthen the runway with a limited extension to allow for other smaller regional carriers to serve the destination.

"Garden Route AERO is most mindful of the importance of finding a fine balance between providing adequate air access into the region, while also respecting and supporting what Plettenberg Bay residents and communities value, in terms of what the town represents, from an environmental and noise perspective," she said.Soon airplanes will take off again. Photo: Ewald Standerage 

Davids said although the runway is the immediate priority, preliminary designs for the terminal extension and refurbishment have already been developed.

Work on the terminal is expected to commence early in 2025.

"We are keenly aware of the fast-approaching peak season and will collaborate closely with all key stakeholders to manage it as effectively as possible," said Davids.

'Service excellence'

"It has been a challenging few months, but we are optimistic that things will improve from here. We are committed to establishing Plettenberg Bay Airport as a hub of service excellence and quality, while also serving as a powerful catalyst for economic development and improving the lives of the surrounding communities."

Steve Pattinson, chairman of the Plett Hangar Owners' Association, said, on behalf of the local aviation community, "we are delighted that the contractual discussions have been finalised and that Garden Route AERO are finally in control of the airport".

Pattinson said this process should have been completed months ago, were it not for the instability in the municipality and the resulting inefficiency and lack of decision-making.

'Grounded unnecessarily'

"Bitou's consistent disregard of the (SA)CAA's findings regarding the runway deterioration has caused both the disruption of CemAir scheduled flights as well as the unnecessary closure of the airport to general aviation.

"We hope that the (SA)CAA will complete its bureaucratic processes soon so businesses like Skydive can resume and local aviators can dust off their aircraft that have been grounded unnecessarily for the last five weeks," said Pattinson.

He added that Garden Route AERO now needed to fulfil their obligations "by providing clarity of their timeline to renovate the runway which is required for Category 5 status, so that commercial operations can resume".

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