Mbalula announces relaxation of lockdown rules on cargo and technical flights

Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula said on Friday that a chartered aircraft from Harare, Zimbabwe managed to land at OR Tambo International Airport in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng on Wednesday without proper authorisation. This is despite the fact that airspace has been closed for passengers.

Mbalula said the aircraft was sent back. The matter is still being investigated to find out how the aircraft managed to land without authorisation.

Mbalula disclosed this in the course of an announcement regarding the amendment of lockdown rules that will enable the transportation industry to function during lockdown.

Government had decided to relax regulations on the importation of goods to allow more than just basic ones, he said. All cargo flights would be allowed into the country for trading reasons.

“We revised the directions on cargo to permit the movement of all cargo, rather than limit this to essential cargo. It is imperative that we should be alive to the economic consequences of our directions, which include, among others, the inability of essential cargo to move due to the fact that carriers package such cargo together with general cargo to achieve the economies of scale. We have been working closely with the minister of trade and industry in this regard.”

He explained that the transportation of general cargo would now be allowed on the basis that these goods would be sanitised.

In addition to the extension of cargo permits, Mbalula also announced an adjustment to technical flights allowed to land in the country.

Last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa placed a travel ban on flights going into and out of the country, except for cargo flights carrying goods.

Mbalula also announced that South Africa’s airspace would be open for nations wishing to repatriate their citizens out of the country.

“Our airspace remains closed to passenger flights, with exceptions made for authorised flights either repatriating foreign nationals or bringing South Africans stranded in foreign countries home.”

He added that foreign nationals may be repatriated to their home countries provided that the foreign country charters an aircraft to South Africa without passengers, and that crew is not allowed to disembark.

Similarly, South African nationals may be repatriated to the country provided they are in possession of paid flight tickets. They will be subjected to a mandatory quarantine for a period of up to 21 days, he said.

Taxi industry

Early this week, Mbalula announced that the taxi industry would be allowed to operate normally to assist with social grant collection and transportation.

“The adjustment of capacity from 50% to 70% in respect of the taxi industry and morning operating times of buses and taxis from 9am to 10am is informed by material conditions on the ground,” he said.

On Friday evening, Mbalula said that the lockdown laws would be followed.

“From tomorrow [Saturday] taxi hours will return to the morning and afternoon peak times with amendments as followed: 5am to 10am taxis are permitted to ferry commuters at 70% licensed capacity and from 4pm to 8pm the same will apply.

Read: 10 passengers are better than 7 - Taxi operators at Noord Taxi Rank

“One of the key unintended consequences of the [previous] 9am cut-off time was that a significant number of people got left behind in shopping malls because some of the stores like pharmacies and banks only open at 9am. This then resulted in large numbers of people wandering around waiting for the next window for public transport in the afternoon,” said Mbalula.

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