The Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA) has expressed renewed concern and frustration regarding a spate of incidents that disrupted airline operations over the summer peak travel season and throughout January.
The incidents are primarily related to the reliability of refuelling infrastructure, electrical power supply and redundancy systems at the OR Tambo International Airport and Cape Town International Airport.
An AASA statement said there is ongoing uncertainty regarding the management of fuel reserves, as well as the security of the jet fuel supply.
Either way, the association noted that uncertainty directly impacts the ability of airlines to fulfil their schedule integrity.
This is because airlines are still feeling the adverse impact of the very slow pace of restoring 326 instrument flight procedures across SA, which were withdrawn in July 2024. Added to these concerns are last weekend’s cyber breach at the SA Weather Service that disrupted the provision of aviation weather observations and forecasts, which are mission-critical for flights.
“Airlines and passengers pay statutory user charges to the various state aviation agencies for the provision of reliable, safe and efficient as well as affordable services. However, AASA is concerned that the Airports Company South Africa, the Air Traffic and Navigation Service as well as the South African Weather Service applied to their respective economic regulators for new tariff increases when they have been unable to provide the full range of the services that they have been paid for.
“At the same time, the airlines are bearing the brunt in terms of ensuring that they meet their commitments to their customers by having to provide alternatives for disrupted operations,” said Aaron Munetsi, CEO of AASA.
In addition,fuel availability has been a critical item at South Africa’s major airports since 2021 when the Durban refinery was damaged in the unrest.
Another factor is floods that wreaked havoc and rendered the railway line between Durban and the Reef unserviceable.
The closure of the Astron refinery in Cape Town added to the woes.
“These left the industry heavily- reliant on imported jet fuel, for which airlines operating within and from South Africa are forced to pay an exorbitant premium, reflecting the additional logistics, duties and other costs applied to the fuel before it gets anywhere near an aircraft fuel tank,” he added.
Fuel procurement is the responsibility of the fuel companies that have commercial supply agreements with the airlines.
Meanwhile, the latest figures from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) indicate that global passenger demand reached a record high in 2024.
The 2024 full-year figures indicate that total full-year traffic in 2024 (measured in revenue passenger kilometres) to 10.4%, compared to 2023.
This was 3.8% above pre-pandemic (2019) levels.
Total capacity, measured in available seat kilometres was up by 8.7% in 2024, while the overall load factor reached 83.5%, a record for full-year traffic.
“The year 2024 made it absolutely clear that people want to travel. With 10.4% demand growth, travel reached record numbers domestically and internationally. Airlines met that strong demand with record efficiency. On average, 83.5% of all seats on offer were filled – a new record high partially attributable to the supply chain constraints that limited capacity growth. Aviation growth reverberates across societies and economies at all levels through jobs, market development, trade, innovation, exploration and much more,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general. “Looking to 2025, there is every indication that travel demand will continue to grow, albeit at a moderated pace of 8.0%, which is more aligned with historical averages. The desire to partake in the freedom that flying makes possible brings some challenges into sharp focus.
“First, the tragic accident in Washington recently reminds us that safety needs our continuous efforts. Our thoughts are with all those affected. We will never cease our work to make aviation ever safer,” he added.