Wonderboom airport: Leases should be finalised soon and generators are already in place

The Tshwane metro has addressed the concerns of tenants at the Wonderboom national airport around lease contracts for hangers and the impact load-shedding was having on their businesses.

This is after tenants last week expressed their concerns about general managerial aspects at the airport.

Tshwane metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said lease contracts for hangers and other properties at the airport had indeed expired.

“The renewal process was already placed in line with all council policies and applicable legislation and should be resolved soonest.”

In respect of allegations that load-shedding causes interference with night flying at the airport, Mashigo replied that as a civil aviation statutory requirement, generators are in place at the airport.

“Generators are in place at the airport to keep essential power on, that is for the control tower, main runway lights 11/29 and for the terminal building.

“The generators are functioning as intended and have consistent power supply during intermittent load-shedding episodes. Night flying at the airport is not affected at all by the power supply transition.”

He said tenants who are not located within those essential operating facilities of the airport, or outside of those facilities, should unfortunately supply their own power during load-shedding just like all other residents and business owners of the city.

Rekord reported last week that tenants at the Wonderboom national airport were worried about fee increases that they fear might result in the closure of their businesses, as well as managerial aspects at the airport.

“The airport is not only home to flying schools and charters, but provides reliable jobs to so many people,” said a tenant and director of Skydive Pretoria, Angelique Marie Pierry-Sharman.

According to her, Tshwane metro proposed an extravagant raise in fees in its draft for medium-term revenue in its expenditure framework for the city of Tshwane (MTREF) for the 2022/2023 budgeting process.

The training of students in the aviation industry is, and remains our core business. The MTREF proposed costs to rise by 507% for a training flight with a Cessna 172 doing two circuits with one full stop landing, she said.

“An increase of this nature will have a catastrophic effect on the profitability and sustainability of businesses at the airport,” she said.

She said training activities account for about 70% of the total airport traffic, with maintenance, flight charters, recreational flying, flyovers, and private flying constituting the remaining 30% of the traffic at the airport.

The financial plan, model or business plan for the airport, or for this decision, was reportedly unclear to them.

It was reported the metro management informed tenants on April 15 of a public participation process in respect of the said draft, however, failed to comply with its own rules of a 21-day period and indicated submissions were to have been made by May 4.

According to unhappy tenants, the proposed increases were irrational and exceeded the current inflation rate. They said their businesses would not be able to sustain their activities and profitability should these rates be implemented.

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