Air traffic at OR Tambo International is back to normal – ATNS
At no stage was passengers' safety compromised
THE situation at OR Tambo International Airport has normalised and services have been restored, meaning there should be no further flight delays.
This is according to the chief executive officer of Air Traffic Navigation Services (ATNS), Thabani Mthiyane, in a statement issued earlier today.
“I have seriously taken note of the incidents of flight delays that took place at OR Tambo International Airport,” Mthiyane said.
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“Ours is a very technical and technology-intensive environment. Investigations into this type of incidents are regulated because of a set requirement to conform to universal investigation standards and/or protocols within the aviation industry.”
Flight delays were experienced as a result of a communication failure precipitated by an off-peak period reconfiguration of the control centre’s technical layout to accommodate the installation and commissioning of new equipment. This regrettably, resulted in a temporary communication intermission.
“I would like to take this opportunity to assure South Africans, especially those that are regular users of this mode of transport, that at no stage was their safety, or the safety of their kin compromised,” says Mthiyane.
“Contrary to reports in the media and elsewhere of an industrial action by my staff, I want to place it on record that there is/was no such. The regulation and control of air traffic is classified as an essential service and as a result the service delivery by ATNS continues.”
He added, “We have recently held a two-day Regional Safety Air Traffic Management (ATM) Safety Improvement Workshop as part of the 2015 October Transport Month activities to discuss safety issues related to our core operational environment, which is the efficient provision of ATS. Through these focused and continuous dialogues with our stakeholders, we create an environment conducive to jointly manage constraints, inefficiencies and unforeseen events that affect system capacity.
“This primarily minimises negative impacts of any kind of disruptions. Of critical importance is the mitigation of the effects of unforeseen events and situations of reduced capacity and effective, rapid recovery from such.”
ATNS promise to monitor service delivery efficiency daily to ensure that overall delays are kept to a minimum – at all times – and that the safety of all flight operations are not compromised.
