{"id":858521,"date":"2026-04-28T08:35:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T06:35:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=858521"},"modified":"2026-04-28T08:35:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T06:35:30","slug":"one-of-south-africas-airports-loses-its-licence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/858521\/one-of-south-africas-airports-loses-its-licence\/","title":{"rendered":"One of South Africa’s airports loses its licence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) has revoked the licence of Vereeniging Airport. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Political parties have stressed that this is a significant blow to the Vaal region\u2019s already strained economy and aviation sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decision to withdraw the airport’s licence was due to what is described as neglect by the Sedibeng District Municipality, which owns and manages the facility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to regulations, airport licences must be renewed annually and are subject to strict audits and inspections, with non-compliance potentially resulting in fines or closure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this case, officials said the airport failed to meet basic safety and infrastructure requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) said<\/a> the primary issue was the state of the perimeter fencing, which has deteriorated to the point where it no longer secures the premises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Sedibeng District Municipality\u2019s failure to maintain Vereeniging Airport has resulted in the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) cancelling the Airport\u2019s licence,\u201d the party said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the Vereeniging Airport\u2019s case, its inadequate fencing was the main reason for the cancellation of the licence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The VF Plus added that the poor fencing allows uncontrolled access to the premises and jeopardises the fuel farm, while further issues have compounded the safety risks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe runway approach lights have been stolen, making night flights impossible. Animals roam the premises, and sewage flows freely between the buildings\u2014clear signs of decay and neglect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The party noted that despite a R180,000 maintenance tender being approved in July 2025, no visible repairs or upgrades were identified during a recent oversight visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It warned that the airport\u2019s decline could drive away existing users, including an aviation school that operates from the site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis negligence also creates the risk that the aviation school will cancel its contract and move elsewhere,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still plans for a new airport in the region<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Democratic Alliance (DA) echoed<\/a> these concerns, placing the blame squarely on what it described as mismanagement and poor oversight by the municipality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) has decided to cancel the licence of the airport as a result of neglect and safety risks due to the misallocation of funds by the Sedibeng District Municipality,\u201d the party said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It added that essential infrastructure had been allowed to deteriorate despite budget allocations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DA said it had repeatedly warned about the risks of allowing the airport to fall into disrepair, but that these concerns were ignored. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis shutdown will have adverse consequences on the already struggling economy of the Vaal region, as both travel and commerce will be disrupted,\u201d the DA said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The party has called for accountability from municipal leadership. \u201cThe Speaker of Council, alongside the Mayor, must now explain why over R100,000 was allocated, a tender awarded, but no fence maintenance took place,\u201d it said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe DA will submit additional questions in this regard and will demand accountability for those involved in this complete failure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the closure, ambitious plans are being put forward to develop a new international airport and a smart city in the Vaal area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TopAuto reported<\/a><\/strong> that the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition is currently conducting public consultations on the proposed Vaal Special Economic Zone (SEZ), which aims to attract domestic and foreign investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project, led by the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency, includes plans for an \u201caerotropolis\u201d, an economic hub built around a major airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proposed Vaal International Airport is expected to handle millions of passengers and significant freight volumes annually.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) has revoked the licence of a small airport in Gauteng. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":858526,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[853,25287,25288],"class_list":["post-858521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-south-africa","tag-vaal","tag-vereeniging-airport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=858521"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858521\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":858529,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858521\/revisions\/858529"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/858526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=858521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=858521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=858521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}