Flying to South Africa: South Africa is currently moving down to lockdown level 2 and this means more relaxation for flights operating within its airspace. However, international borders remain closed for all flights except for essential flights categorized below by the Ministry of Transport and SACAA departments. Here’s what you need to know.
International and regional flights
All international and regional flights are prohibited until further notice, irrespective of the risk category of their country of origin unless they are authorized by the Ministry of Transport.
Quarantine laws as explained below are still in place, and any foreign nationals passenger or crew intending to enter South-Africa for long stays will be subject to 14-day quarantine at indicated hotels.
Persons who test positive for the COVID-19 will follow the same procedures from the nearest health facility available.
Exempted and essential flights
Cargo, medevac, humanitarian, aircraft in states of emergency, technical stops for refueling, maintenance test flights, and overflights will be allowed subject to approval from the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation Authorities of South Africa.
No Passengers of technical flights may disembark.
All ports of entry will be subject to health officials’ approval and temperature screening procedures on arrival.
International air cargo
These flights are allowed, under the guidelines pointed out by SACAA only in FALE, FAOR and FACT airports. This is subject to Department of Transport and SACAA approvals and the confirmation of slots issued thereafter by airport authorities.
Cargo flights will be subject to sanitization requirements.
Disembarkation of cargo crew is permitted subject to the quarantine regulations in place.
Maintenance flights
Maintenance flights of foreign registered aircraft operating into South Africa and pre-approved exchange of crew members are allowed in compliance with the COVID-19 regulations.
Repatriation flights
Repatriations of foreign nationals to their respective countries are allowed if the charter flight enters with no passengers on board and crew can enter for night stops at selected hotels should they exceed flight duty times, also subject to Health and Transport Ministry’s approval.
Evacuations of South African nationals from foreign countries are allowed if passengers have paid for their ticket and arriving passengers are prepared to be quarantined for up to 21 days.
Crew may disembark but will be subject to mandatory quarantine laws as applicable.
Air ambulance
These operations are allowed under the following conditions:
Medical evacuation flights may not carry passengers other than crew and patients
COVID-19 infection control measures are adhered to by crew, medical personnel, and patients
Aircraft disinfection guidelines are complied with
Medical doctors receiving and/or handing over a patient to a healthcare provider will be allowed to escort the patient from the airport to the hospital (and vice versa)
Flights that are not for the purposes of repatriation, evacuation, aircraft in states of emergency, domestic and international air cargo, or air ambulance ops are required to obtain written permission for each operation from the Department of Transport prior to the flight departure.
All these operations should submit their permit applications to the various Ministry and South African Civil Aviation Authority for assessment.
For support with your flight operations to South Africa, contact UAS
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Mitch Launius
Instructor Pilot for 30 West IP
Mitch is the CEO of 30 West IP where he is also an instructor providing pilot training on international procedures. With an illustrious career of over 34 years in the cockpit, Mitch has acquired over 13,000 hours of flight time flying worldwide, with over 9,000 hours of this in Challenger and Gulfstream aircraft. He is an experienced safety officer and was also an IS-BAO project manager for a fortune 500 flight department. He has presented on Safety and Operations topics at the NBAA International Operators Conference and the Canadian Business Aviation Association Convention and is currently on the NBAA International Operators Committee and serves as the North Atlantic Regional Lead. Mitch is also a member of an FAA working group on General Aviation International Authorizations and Tabletop Exercises (GIATE). He was recently selected to represent IBAC as a member of the ICAO Personal Training and Licensing Panel (PTLP) and was also recently named as a 2020 recipient of the NBAA Tony Kern Professionalism in Aviation Award for his contribution to the business aviation community.
Henry ‘Duke’ LeDuc
Director Of Operations, Americas, UAS International Trip Support
Duke has been a dearly respected member of UAS Americas team and the UAS global family for more than five years. A safety-oriented, FAA-licensed aircraft dispatcher, he oversees all of the operations of the elite UAS Operations Team. With twenty-five years of experience in aviation overall with more than fifteen years of experience in international flight planning and VVIP trip coordination, he is responsible for the development of the dispatch training program and involved in the strategic development of UAS Americas. With a myriad of rich aviation experience behind him, he has extensive experience in worldwide operations with both corporate and charter environments, including seven years as Operations/Dispatch Manager in an industry-leading, Fortune 500, IS-BAO Stage III Certified corporate flight department. Duke is frequently asked shares his knowledge at major industry events and is currently serving on the NBAA’s International Operators Conference (IOC) Planning Committee.
Dudley King
President and Founder, FlightBridge
Dudley is the Founder and President of FlightBridge, which he established in 2011 and has been focused on technology solutions for the private aviation industry since 2006. Since he graduated from Dartmouth in 1988, he has worked with an array of companies listed anywhere from VentureWire to the Fortune 100. A rare blend of executive, entrepreneur, and consultant, Dudley’s executive roles have included acting CIO positions for several companies and tech advisory services to CEOs trying to rebuild their technology organizations or looking for an external, professional point of view. Highly skilled at deeply understanding his customer’s business challenges and drawing from a long and varied experience in information technology services, Dudley excels at designing technology solutions to solve their problems.
Dr. Paulo Alves
Global Medical Director, Aviation Health, Medaire
Paulo has extensive experience in medical advisory in the aviation industry. As a cardiologist, he provides technical guidance and analysis for MedAire’s MedLink medical advisory service and is MedAire’s liaison with civil aviation regulators and industry associations. Paulo worked with Varig Brazilian Airlines for 23 years, 10 of which were spent as General Medical Manager. A member of the MedAire Medical Advisory Board, Paulo is also President of the Ibero-American Aerospace Medical Association, a member of the International Academy of Aerospace Medicine, a member of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Safety Committee, a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA), and a Fellow of the Civil Aviation Medical Association. Throughout his illustrious career, Paulo has held industry leadership roles including Chairperson of the AsMA’s Air Transport Medicine Committee, President of the Airlines Medical Directors Association, President of the Brazilian Society of Aerospace Medicine and was a member of the IATA Medical Advisory Group from 2002 to 2006.
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