According to the ATNS, it has a series of operational contingency plans that can be operationalized at any given time, depending on the levels of service interruption or identified risks.
- According to the South African Air Traffic and Navigation Services, a controller pilot data link communications (CPDLC) fault has been restored over a vast ocean area for which SA is responsible.
- It is a system through which air traffic controllers transmit text messages to pilots as an alternative to voice communications to aircraft.
- Although the fault has been reset, aviation experts and pilots warn that the incident still raises serious concerns.
- For more financial news, Go to the News24 Business Cover.
Although the failure of an air traffic control communication link with pilots over a vast oceanic area for which South Africa is responsible has been restored, aviation experts and pilots warn the incident still raises serious concerns.
South Africa’s Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS) said Tuesday afternoon that its Controller Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC), a system through which air traffic controllers transmit text messages to pilots as an alternative to voice communications to aircraft, has been fully restored
This follows a CPDLC service failure that took place on December 6, 2022 over a large area of airspace over the ocean to southern Africa and extending as far as Antarctica. Airspace has been delegated to SA by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). It was restored in the early morning of December 7, 2022.
“ATNS is working closely with its data link service provider to determine the root cause of this failure. However, it must be emphasized that this incident is unprecedented, as ATNS has never experienced an occurrence of this nature before. “, ATNS replied to News24 Business. .
“Several redundancies are built into the CPDLC architecture and, as part of ongoing investigations, will be reviewed to identify potential improvements and prevent future recurrences.” According to the ATNS, it has a series of operational contingency plans that can be operationalized at any given time, depending on the levels of service interruption or identified risks.
“Air traffic volumes are naturally low within oceanic airspace. Therefore, no separation risks were identified during this incident,” ATNS said.
“Security is our number one priority. We are part of a global collective that has earned the highest rating when it comes to aviation security. The recent International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) security audit report is indicative of the South African aviation industry’s stance and commitment to safer skies.”
DA Member of Parliament Chris Hunsinger said in a statement that the party will submit a formal request to Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula to explain the circumstances following the failure of CPDLC.
“The collapse of this system also revealed that the backup system, which is a conventional high-frequency voice communication system, broke down and was not repaired for almost a year. Without both systems, the pilots and ground control would not they had a way of communicating with each other,” says Hunsinger.
“This communications ‘blackout’ raises serious concerns with regard to air traffic safety and is a serious violation of the international obligation that South Africa and ATNS must meet for aviation safety in three different flight information zones.”
Aviation expert Linden Birns, CEO of Plane Talking, says that through the Association of Southern African Airlines (AASA), the industry has repeatedly raised its concerns with the relevant SA authorities about severely diminished capacity and capacity. of the SA Air Force and Navy. This has compromised its ability to provide the required maritime and air search and rescue services to which the government has committed under the civil aviation and maritime treaties.
“In addition to South Africa’s own area of responsibility, which stretches across the middle of the South Atlantic to Brazil, to the South Pole, and across the middle of the South Indian Ocean to Australia and from the sea surface to the ocean floor, it has undertaken to provide similar services to other countries in the region,” explains Birns.
In his opinion, it is far from ideal to have failures in air-to-ground data or radio communications systems like those recently experienced by the ATNS. However, he points out that there are standard procedures that aircrew must adopt as a safety measure in the event of breakdowns of this type.
“Given that South Africa has just been elected to the ICAO Council, that the Helderberg tragedy is still clearly etched in the public consciousness – we have just marked the 35th anniversary – and that the fate of Malaysia Airlines MH570 remains a mystery as yet. More recently, one would hope that these air navigation services, which are paid for by passengers and airlines as part of the fees collected for each airline ticket sold, are sufficiently safe and that the equipment they rely on is properly maintained and serviced. Birns says.
International Air Transport Association (IATA) Regional Vice President for Africa and Middle East Kamil Alawadhi said in his address to the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) 2022 General Assembly in Dakar, Senegal on Tuesday that, When it comes to security, there is no room for compromise.
“It is essential that we review the contingency coordination processes for the region, not only to ensure minimal operational disruption, but to ensure that at no time is there a degradation in service delivery or security,” he said. “Security is paramount and the focus on this must be unwavering.”
An experienced South African pilot, who wants to remain anonymous but whose identity is known to News24, said that in a case like the ATNS link failing and its high-frequency radio system not working, a pilot could theoretically log in in the high frequency CPDLC of another country and ask them, in turn, to make telephone contact with ATNS in SA.
Another very experienced pilot adds that the area SA is responsible for is very wide and not having a proper quick response in an emergency could create a big problem.
“Imagine how long it would take before search and rescue kicks in. We have high-frequency radio as a backup, but sometimes it’s not that reliable. So real-time communication, position reports and the like are more advantageous for flight safety”. ,” he says. “Hence the need for CPDLC systems to function properly during long flights across the Atlantic.”
News24 has contacted Mbalula’s office and this article will be updated if a response is received.
