Parliamentary Question: DoT: traffic trends

1946

Mr S B Farrow (DA) asked the Minister of Transport:

Whether any mechanisms have been put in place to assess traffic trends within the South African airspace; if not, why not; if so, what (a) are the trends, (b) are the impact of these trends and (c) steps have been taken to accommodate these trends?

REPLY:

The Minister of Transport:

The Air Traffic and Navigation Services Company Limited (ATNS), an Agency of the Department of Transport, has implemented mechanisms to assess traffic trends within the South African airspace through comprehensive tri-annual traffic studies and forecasts. The ATNS also conducts monthly traffic analyses and forecasts to validate and review the long term forecasts and the impact of traffic trends on the ATNS service delivery.
(a) The trends of air traffic within the South African airspace are as follows:

(a) The trends of air traffic within the South African airspace are as follows:

AIR TRAFFIC TRENDS

 

 

ACTUAL

FORECASTED

 

 

2006/07

2007/08

2008/09

2009/10

2010/11

2011/12

2012/13

2013/14

2014/15

ATM

729,475

753,630

736,636

698,037

682,969

700,484

708,199

718,745

728,550

AAGR

8,55%

3,31%

-2,25%

-5,24%

-2,16%

2,56

1,10

1,49

1,36

 

ATM : Air Traffic Movements

AAGR : Annual Average Growth Rate
(b)

Due to the economic downturn, the traffic forecast of 2009/10 did not materialise. In reality, the ATNS is currently experiencing traffic levels comparable to 2006/07. HH The consequence of the economic down-turn is that the ATNS will continue with its process of cost containment.
(c)

The planning of the ATNS service to provide the capacity to satisfy demand is based on the results of the traffic studies and forecasts. This information is used to determine the number of sectors required for service provision, the human resources requirements to support service delivery and the infrastructure requirements. The monthly ATNS forecast results are applied to adjust the demand and capacity balancing initiatives to real traffic levels experienced.