Ryley hails release of Virginia Airport report

IT was a moment to savour for Durban North ward councillor, Shaun Ryley, as he held aloft a copy of a feasibility study commissioned by the city regarding the future of Virginia Airport on the tarmac of the famed airport.

According to media reports, the airport will close its doors in 2018. The study was released to Ryley 10 months after he initially asked for it, via a Public Access to Information Act (PAIA) application.

The 200-page report, conducted by consultancy Royal Dutch Haskoning DHV, looked at alternative sites for the 55-year-old airport after concluding the current site unviable for general aviation. In December last year, operators were told they would be given a three-year lease, after which they will move to Scottburgh on the South Coast.

He said while he was pleased that the full report was finally being released, he lamented the dragging out of this matter.

“This is a massive victory for the freedom of information and accountability. In 2011 the city agreed to a 10-year lease and then reneged on the deal. My promise to the operators was to obtain the document,” said Ryley.

“This was a document published using public funds and its only fair that information is put out into the public domain. A condensed version was presented to the city’s executive committee in December, but the operators are the experts in the aviation industry. My aim was to get the report to them.”

Ryley said he was in the process of converting the report into digital form in order to e-mail to the operators.

“It has not necessarily been about the airport moving or not, but more about the secrecy behind the future of Virginia that is concerning. This situation should be handled in a more transparent manner,” he said.

Daryl Mann, owner of Aero Natal and spokesman on behalf of the airport’s operators, could not be reached for comment as he was out of the province.

However, in a candid interview with Northglen News in November last year he rejected the Scottburgh move, saying it was ‘nonsensical’.

“We’ve never said we won’t move, we’ve said show us a suitable alternative. The only move which could meet the criteria is to King Shaka. However, that would need a second runway and the city would need to contribute to the relocation costs. We are not asking for anything unreasonable. The proposed Scottburgh move is nonsensical.

“The city needs a general aviation airport which serves as a main artery to the CBD. But the uncertainty is still hurting business, which is why there is no investing in the airport. We are one of the busiest airports in the province, apart from King Shaka, but we are receiving no funding for any upgrades,” he said last year.

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