South Africa doesn’t have enough black pilots and cabin crew: lawmakers

Parliament’s portfolio committee for Transport has raised concerns about the lack of transformation in South Africa’s aviation sector.

Responding to annual presentations by the Airports Company of South Africa (Acsa) and the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA), members of the committee noted with concern that the majority of pilots and cabin crew are white.

Some members called for action to address this.

Data provided by the Civil Aviation Authority shows that the vast majority of pilots in the country are white (89.2%).

By comparison, just 7.1% of pilots are black South Africans, while coloured and Indian pilots make up a combined 3%.

“Continue to bring hope to our people, bring hegemony by empowering those who have not been empowered. We understand the challenges of Covid-19, but the issue of transformation needs to be addressed urgently,” said committee chairperson Mosebenzi Zwane.

One suggestion was to reduce the fees for pilot training, which would make it more accessible to previously disadvantaged groups of people.

Pilots licence can be prohibitively expensive for ordinary South Africans and may act as a financial barrier for many black pilots looking to enter the aviation sector.

Read: South Africa to introduce new BEE changes to push transformation