Garden Route AERO (GRA) remains ambitious in its approach to ensure that Plettenberg Bay Airport achieves a Category 6 Airport license.
The license would enable the airport to accept flights which are operated by larger aircraft, such as the B737-300, A318 and A319.
Picture: Sourced / Michael Walter
The airport’s license was suspended at the end of July, with the risky nature of the runway stated as one of the contributing factors for the suspension.
As reported by TravelNews, the airport is yet to address the basic repairs necessary to reinstate the airport’s original Category 4 license. This is according to Miles van der Molen, CEO of CemAir.
CemAir is the only airline which has been operating commercial flights to the airport for many years. Having the airport’s Category 4 license reinstated would enable domestic airlines (such as CemAir) to conduct commercial operations at the airport again.
‘We really don’t know what timelines look like on anything. Our decision to go back (to Plettenberg Bay Airport) will be based on how long it takes to restore the (Category 4) license. If it’s restored in short order, then it’d be worth going back.’ said Van der Molen.
In a statement released in early September by GRA spokesperson, Deidre Davids, an agreement was reached by Bitou Municipality and GRA regarding a way forward for the airport.
Currently, GRA has expressed the ability and readiness to fast-track and prioritise the airport’s long-overdue maintenance issues.
The runway is set to be the top priority and GRA has appointed engineers to assess the scope of the repairs, as well as to develop a construction plan.
According to Davids, the aim is to start runway repairs as quickly as possible. A comprehensive solution will be applied which will guarantee its durability and performance for the next five years.
‘This approach will minimise the need for additional repairs in the short term,’ said Davids.
Concerning a Category 6 license, CemAir elaborated that it could be challenging to obtain due to the region’s geographical landscape. Moreover, extending the runway could also be extremely expensive.
As such, the airline would prefer to see more plans and updates which are focused at improving the airport to any level which would enable operations to resume.
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