Transport minister Fikile Mbalula addressed the nation today [May 30] on the Level 3 transport regulations for air travel, road-based travel and more.
Domestic air travel
The resumption of domestic flights will be rolled out from OR Tambo, Cape Town International Airport and King Shaka International Airport. Limited domestic air travel for business purposes will be allowed, subject to restrictions on the number of flights per day and authorisation based on the reason for travel.
Guidelines to prevent the spread of the virus in civil aviation activities have been developed by the South African Civil Aviation Authority and will be implemented by the industry. These include
-Only employees with a permit, foreign consular and diplomatic agents rendering consular services to foreign nationals, crew and, passengers will be allowed to enter the terminal buildings. Only drop-off’s and pickups will be permitted.
-Temperature screenings will be conducted at building entrances before any passenger is allowed to enter.
-No passengers will be allowed in the terminal building without a mask on.
-All functioning airports will have marking on the floor to promote social distancing.
-Counters will be installed with protective screens and check-in counters will be frequently sanitised.
-Loading capacity for airport buses will be limited to 70%
-Domestic passenger air travel is not permitted for recreational, leisure or tourism purposes.
Full capacity will be allowed inside the aircraft cabin, as the risk of contracting the coronavirus is lower than in any other confined spaces. This is because all commercial aircrafts are fitted with high efficiency particulate air filters.
The following measures will apply inside the cabin of aircraft.
-No catering.
-No in-flight magazines.
-The last row of seats will be reserved for isolation of suspected asymptomatic cases.
Repatriation flights
SAA has received approvals to operate the following repatriation flights during the level three lockdown.
“Due to numerous inquiries that we have received through various channels, including our social media platforms and our foreign missions, we decided to open a portal to gauge the real traveller interest,” said Tebogo Tsimane, acting General Manager for Operations.
Rail services
During his address Mbalula also mentioned that rail services will be allowed to resume operations on 1 July along certain Parsa routes. These include:
-Cape Town Southern line to Simonstown.
-Port Elizabeth to Uitenhage.
-Pienaarspoort to Pretoria Central.
-East London to Berlin.
-Any other commuter services.
The Gautrain service will also resume operations along the following routes.
-Sandton to OR Tambo International Airport.
-Park Station to Hatfield.
Image credit: Pixabay
