Industry calls for stricter policing of foreign airlines

MORE THAN 90% of South Africa’s cargo handled at Johannesburg International Airport (JIA) is flown on foreign-registered freighters, a number of which are acting illegally, says African International Air director Pat Corbin,
“The authorities, mainly the Department of Transport (Dot) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), are responsible for the issue of permits and control of these movements, but aren’t doing enough to curb those who contravene the law,” he says.
“Surprisingly few people think of airfreight as a major transport mode, but more than R100 billion worth of goods annually is cleared through JIA customs.
“The department requires that local cargo operators adhere to a strict regime in terms of aircraft maintenance, insurance and crew regulations. They must respect traffic rights everywhere else when flying out of this country. But these same rules are not applied stringently to foreign operators.
“There is a laxity on the part of local aviation controls, and this means the arrival of foreign-registered cargo aircraft, especially at night, which often goes ignored.”
Corbin has called for the establishment of a national air operators and stakeholders forum to present a unified voice to government on the matter.
“We want a level playing field. We don’t want the chap playing by the rules to be disadvantaged by the one ignoring the rules.”
The opinion is backed up by Marcus Senyatsi, SAA-Cargo executive manager of alliances and networks.
“We are fully behind the South African operator’s point of view,” he says. “There is a need for more stringent policing. There appears to be insufficient enforcement on the part of the regulatory authorities when it comes to overseas operators. Many of them do not appear to be complying with permit requirements.”