Push to revamp Pietermaritzburg airport

More work is required to make the Pietermaritzburg Airport viable, the Msunduzi finance portfolio committee heard on Wednesday.

The committee conducted an oversight visit at the facility to address the key challenges facing the airport.

Among the issues raised, the committee heard that the airport has upgraded its drainage system to ensure that there is no standing water on the runway and taxiway, which enhances safety during wet weather and reduces cracks. In addition, the coffee shop is also now open.

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However, major operational challenges will take time to resolve. Questions about the financial health and operational capabilities of the airport were raised by committee members.

Acting airport manager Akhona Ngcobo said the airport has had its ups and downs in the past, but those involved have now brought its operations back on track.

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Ngcobo said among the challenges was the coffee shop which had not been in operation for some time due to the Covid-19 lockdown, but has now since re-opened.

Management is also working on getting new airlines to come to Pietermaritzburg but the runway’s length and breadth are problematic.

It [the runway] is not big enough for bigger airlines, so it is a challenge. People are interested in leasing offices at the airport and with more space to lease, more money could be generated, but we do not have the space to lease out. To run an airport is quite expensive. The airport is making money but one challenge is that the current leases we have are not working in our favour.
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She said a benchmarking exercise should be done to see how much other airports charge per square metre.

“We are collecting money on a monthly basis and what we collect is sufficient to keep us afloat.
Another challenge is that we are very understaffed and we are getting interns every year, meaning that there are no experienced personnel to run the airport.”

We had so many problems but now we are more involved and [the aviation industry] is impressed with the progress we are making. We have closed all the critical [audit] findings and we are doing very well compared to when we had a contractor [running the airport].
She said the entity was relying on only three general workers who are responsible for keeping the entire facility clean. Despite these challenges, progress is being made in the form of the newly erected perimeter fence which is currently being illuminated. This will be followed by an intruder detection system.

The Pietermaritzburg to Cape Town route was not viable so we decided to remain with the Pietermaritzburg to Joburg route as it is more viable. Let’s fix what we have first and then expand because we don’t have space to house additional bigger airliners.
She added that a candidate has been found for the airport manager position.

There are two aviation schools and four flights per day at the airport. The storm damage is under repair and it is expected to be finished before the end of the year.
The damages were huge so fixing it at once would have meant closing down for the repairs, but the repairs are being done in the evenings.
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Committee member and DA councillor Ross Strachan asked, “About a year ago there was a report that the airport is running at a deficit of 150%; has this improved?”

City chief executive Nelly Ngcobo said the fraction of the deficit was high but declining.

I don’t have the numbers as we speak but I know it is declining.
Msunduzi mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla pressed the acting airport manager to tell the committee how she compared the progress at present to that 10 years ago.

He said the length of time it would take to put all the measures in place to make the facility viable would be informed by the contents of the report that he requested from the acting airport manager.

How much this entire work will cost, including the expansion of the runway, will also determine the time it will take to finalise the job.