Dundee airfield is now a danger to pilots and visitors

It was once earmarked for a provincial air show and plays a vital role in ensuring that patients in urgent need of medical care are airlifted…It was even an important stopover for international tourists eager to see the world-famous battlefields.

But the Dundee airfield has now fallen into disarray, with livestock grazing next to the runway and pedestrians using the airfield as a shortcut to town by walking through sections of the expensive security fence that have been removed

.Tom Honibal, a local pilot who (along with other aviation enthusiasts) has tried his best to maintain the facility, said he has received countless complaints from pilots who have recounted stories of pedestrians ‘playing chicken with air planes attempting to land on the runway; of having to avoid livestock; and of international tourists being forced to relieve themselves in the open, as the toilets have been vandalized

.“The Endumeni Motorsport Club held their drag racing event on the runway in June and repaired the fence on the corner of Victoria and Colley streets. I was later told by a security officer at the adjacent Disaster Management Centre that he had seen people removing that same fence and poles that had been donated,” Honiball said.

“On that same corner, a goat herdsman broke open the rest of the fence to allow his goats access. There are numerous other areas where the fence has been removed and people are using the airfield as a thoroughfare.

“I had a complaint from a Vryheid businessman who could not land last week because of people walking down the runway and totally ignoring the fact that he was trying to land. The cows are also a major problem, as they like standing on the tar and the runway is full of cow manure. The manure dries, hardens and poses a danger, as the aircraft undercarriage impacts the hardened dung at high speed, and this can cause significant damage to the aircraft.”Honiball added that he had taken to the air and had counted seven places on the perimeter of the airfield where sections of fencing were down.“The airfield is also being used by Emergency Medical Rescue aircraft which fly in weekly at great risk with medical specialists and doctors who hold a clinic in Dundee.”A Dundee Hospital spokesperson told the Courier that medical aircraft still use the airfield, despite the risks.

The local airfield was traditionally the ideal stopover for international tourists who would land in Dundee to be ferried to the battlefields. Prince Charles and a young Prince Harry famously landed here in 1997 on their way to Fugitive’s Drift Lodge.

“There are still regular tourist flights that use the airfield and the pilots are horrified at the state of this airfield, with most claiming it to be the worst they have encountered yet.”

Honiball continued that the ablution facilities were repaired by volunteers and kept clean, but have since been ‘out of service’ after thieves made off with the pipes and fittings.“It was extremely embarrassing when an aircraft full of tourists from Europe landed and needed the loo. They ended up squatting behind the hangars. The tourists, especially the ladies, were totally disgusted with Dundee and said they would not be visiting Dundee anytime soon.”

Local tour guide Pat Rundgren also expressed his shock over the state of the airfield, but admitted that it ‘does not come as a surprise.“The airfield has always been a hassle. It gets repaired, upgraded, and fenced at a huge expense, only to be vandalised as soon as the contractors move off-site. Look at the new (adjacent) Disaster Management Services ‘white elephant building next door. Several years on, it has never been completed and is now thoroughly vandalised.”

When the Courier visited the airfield on Friday, we were greeted by a fallen electrical box which Honiball said had toppled over due to cattle rubbing themselves against the unit. The runway lights have been stolen, but the thieves left the cable (which is of a very low value). While there, a herdsman nonchalantly shooed his livestock through a broken section of fencing to allow them to graze .

Children from adjacent houses, barely 20 metres from the perimeter, were playing on a horse that had been tethered within the airfield property. Broken glass was strewn around and the last section of the runway badly potholed.

“The racing club guys generously resurfaced the first 400 metres for their drag racing, but the rest of the runway is in a dire state,” Honiball commented..Previously, Endumeni Municipality budgeted around R220,000 per annum on the airfield. It is unclear what the budget amount is this year. Still, Cllr Naresh Gopie(chairman of the Municipal PublicAccounts Committee) said he had noted all the concerns regarding the airfield and these had been passed onto Municipal Manager Mr Ntombela.