On Friday, 10 October 2025, the Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS) SOC Ltd provided the following update regarding the ongoing instrument flight procedure maintenance programme at three international airports.
Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport
The instrument landing system (ILS) procedure for Runway 26 at the airport had to be suspended this week in order to comply with mandatory regulatory requirements and the ATNS Safety Management System (SMS). However, the ILS procedure for Runway 08 remains in use. The suspended flight procedure has been approved by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) and will be promulgated as soon as possible, with an operational target date of 27 November 2025. The impact of the suspension would be flight delays and diversions, especially because this coastal airport is susceptible to inclement weather conditions.
Polokwane International and Kruger Mpumalanga International Airports
Flight procedures for these two airports have been suspended as part of the ongoing instrument flight procedure maintenance programme. Also, there has been a delay in concluding their submissions for approval to our regulatory authorities because ATNS is going through a Flight Procedure Design certification renewal process as per the South African Civil Aviation Regulations (SACAR). While waiting for the recertification process to conclude, the flight procedures in these airports will remain suspended to ensure full compliance with safety management systems. Pending the recertification, ATNS will immediately submit the procedures for these two airports for approval. The suspension would result in flight disruptions at these airports.
ATNS is working diligently with regulatory authorities to ensure the approvals are received timeously in order to bring the suspended operations in use.
