Half of South African planes flying illegally

Of the 12,500 aircraft registered in the South African Civil Aviation Authority register, only 42.4% (5,300) have been issued with a Certificate of Airworthiness, a reply to a Democratic Alliance parliamentary question by Greg Krumbock, Shadow Deputy Minister of Transport, has revealed.

According to the Civil Aviation Act, no aircraft may be legally operated without a Certificate of Airworthiness. This means that a huge number of aircraft are flying illegally.

Krumbock said, “The issuing of Airworthiness Certificates has been a source of great contention between the Civil Aviation Authority and the airline industry over the last eight years.”

He said the airline industry had expressed dissatisfaction with the manner in which the Civil Aviation Authority managed the renewal process of Airworthiness Certificates.

The DA said that the Civil Aviation Authority has allegedly been operating without a General Manager for Air Safety Operations for quite some time.

“The DA will submit follow-up questions to the Minister of Transport, Dipuo Peters, to establish whether aircrafts without certificates are still in operation, why they are not being issued with certificates of airworthiness and what steps have been taken to assist them in obtaining certificates of airworthiness,” Krumbock stated.

“We will also, as a matter of urgency, request that the Acting Director of Civil Aviation, Poppy Khoza, together with the representatives of the airline industry meet with the Portfolio Committee of Transport to seek a solution to this problem.”

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Have you flown in a South African plane you suspected was not airworthy? Comment below.