South Africa’s State-owned air traffic control (ATC) agency, Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS), has announced that it has started its first ever programme of focused Airspace Infringement Awareness workshops. The first of these was held at Rand Airport, Germiston, east of Johannesburg, on Thursday. The programme will run until December 2, with workshops at Wonderboom Airport (Pretoria), Grand Central Airport (Midrand) and George Airport (George).

Airspace infringements occur when aircraft enter controlled airspace (that is, airspace actively managed by ATC agencies) without clearance from ATC, or when a cleared aircraft deviates from its authorised flightpath. The vast majority of airspace infringements are accidental, but nevertheless all create potential hazards, including the risk of mid-air collisions.

“Common causes of airspace infringements include a lack of situational awareness, misunderstandings regarding airspace classifications, inadequate pre-flight planning, navigation errors, and weather-related challenges,” explained ATNS air traffic services pool manager: Lanseria International Airport Sicelo Mpungose. “To avoid infringements, best practices include thorough pre-flight planning and briefing, regularly updating navigation databases, effective communication with ATC, and continuous training and proficiency checks.”

(Mpungose is the lead for the Airspace Infringement Awareness campaign.)

The campaign is aimed at the General Aviation sector – basically, privately owned light single- and twin-engine aircraft. All the major stakeholders are involved in the awareness campaign. General aviation pilots must adhere to the regulations and best practices, but ATC has to provide clear directions and support. And oversight and enforcement for both is provided by the regulator (the South African Civil Aviation Authority, or SACAA).  

Topics being covered in the workshops include the challenges faced by pilots in avoiding infringements, and proposals to improve communication between ATC and pilots. Also being discussed are suggestions for appropriate training programmes.

Perhaps ironically, ATNS has itself been in violation of regulations, which caused SACAA to suspend certain air traffic navigation procedures at several airports. In turn, this caused disruptions to commercial air traffic.