What was once hailed as one of the best aerodromes in the country and favoured as a training hub for aviation schools in the Eastern Cape, is showing signs of becoming a liability to tax payers.
What was once hailed as one of the best aerodromes in the country and favoured as a training hub for aviation schools in the Eastern Cape, is showing signs of becoming a liability to tax payers.
In an interview with Grocott's Mail, chairperson of the Grahamstown Flying Club Ron Weissenberg said the airport was making less money than before and is costing more to maintain. He said the club's lease agreement with the Municipality was the only lucrative source of income for the municipality.
Following a damaging letter from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) advising pilots not to land at the Grahamstown aerodrome, the aerodrome is believed to be at risk of losing potential business, clients and revenue. The NOTAM (Notice to Airmen), came after the CAA had conducted a safety inspection and discovered that the runway lights were not working.
The runway lights at the Grahamstown airfield have been out of order for over a year now and the turning circle at the end of the runway has decayed, posing a safety hazard to pilots who want to land in Grahamstown.
Insurance companies issue ultimatum to pilots
According to Weissenberg, insurance companies had issued an ultimatum to airlines and pilots telling them that they won’t be covered if an accident happened while they try to land at the Grahamstown aerodrome after hours or during poor visibility.
The aerodrome is the property of Makana Municipality and is under the management of Department of Parks and Recreation. Assistant Director of the department, Kevin Bates, said the CAA gave them a clean bill and that his department had done everything in its power including paying the license in order to keep the airport operational.
“The NOTAM states clearly that we must fix the lights and we are trying our best under the immense financial strain. We've painted the marks at the runway and fixed the fence,” Bates said.
He added that the Makana Municipality "is bankrupt" and they are doing their best to make things work with little they have. He said that the CAA NOTAM only forbids night time flying due to the lack of lights – apart from that the aerodrome is functional.
Weissenberg echoed Bates's words: “The Parks and Recreation Department under Kevin Bates does as best they can with less than adequate resources and support.”
However, he said daytime flying is also not advisable during bad weather so the lack of lights is a problem.
In October, Colonel Roger Keaton from the 6 SAI Battalion said the army had stopped using the airport for training exercises three years ago due to its deteriorated state. "It is no longer suitable and we now hold our air exercises in Port Elizabeth, Bulembu airport and Bisho," he said. "There need to be serious renovations before we could use it again."
The loss of interest in the Grahamstown aerodrome is damaging the city's economy, Weissenberg said. Last year Weissenberg approached an established commercial airline company and submitted a business proposal to ask them for a service to fly passengers from Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. According to Weissenberg, they said, "Yes, but fix your airport first".
He blamed the municipality for a poor maintenance plan and a lack of action. "These faulty lights mean that no planes land at night so now we can't offer the full service to the schools," said Weissenberg. "That means we lose revenue, because every time a plane lands the airport gets paid landing fees.
"Due to the fact that we can't offer the aviation schools the full service, the schools are now taking their business elsewhere," he explained.
He added that the aerodrome previously received business from the edu-tourism sector.
Wealthy parents with children going to Grahamstown schools also previously used the aerodrome to visit their children, paying landing fees every time their aircrafts touched down.
According to Weissenberg the airport was previously favoured by flying schools in Port Elizabeth, Port Alfred and East London for training of their student pilots for long distance exercises.
The airfield was built in the early 1930s to serve the Air Force and was, until recently, hailed as one of the best aerodrome airports in the country due to its top-class facilities.
Ron Weissenberg, Chairman of the Grahamstown Flying Club, clarifies the following points reported in the article, ‘Grahamstown airfield a white elephant, say pilots’ (Grocott’s Mail 7 February 2014, p.3). He says:
· The comments were made in his personal capacity and are not those of the Grahamstown Flying Club;
· The Grahamstown Flying Club’s lease is not the only source of income for the municipality.
· The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) did not advise pilots not to land at the Grahamstown Aerodrome. The CAA advised pilots last year that the runway lights were inoperable. This prevents night time air-traffic movements and air-traffic movements in low visibility.
· No insurance company has issued an ultimatum to airlines and pilots regarding the Grahamstown airfield.
