Big delays as
traffic control staff is halved
COURIER COMPANIES in the East London area have emerged from a month of distress during which express packages experienced lengthy delays on a daily basis.
It all started when the local airport’s Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS) air traffic control staff was halved from a regular four members to two. This meant the control unit did not open until 06:30 daily - leaving incoming freighter services stranded.
Delays did not affect normal passenger flights, which further upset business developers in the region.
They insist that greater attention should have been given to providing a better freight service to enable urgent packages to be delivered to other parts of the country on time.
The Airworld freighter normally reaches East London from Gauteng and Durban around 05:30 but had to be delayed for 90 minutes. To page 11
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Services were affected throughout November and schedule times were only restored on December 7. A controller was transferred from Bloemfontein to ease the situation, after one of the regular staff members had emigrated and another had to be booked off on sick leave.
“This affected our business a great deal and some of our clients complained bitterly, but there was nothing we could do about it,” said Sun Couriers East London branch manager Connie Barnard.
At the offices of another courier company, Dawn Wing, proprietor Ian Campbell said the normal routine of opening the office at 04:30 daily to prepare for the incoming flight and then handling outgoing consignments, was totally disrupted.
“We certainly deserve much better service that what we are currently experiencing,” he said. “The delays had a negative effect on our business and could have been handled more correctly and with greater urgency.”
