When it comes to aviation standards, South Africa’s aviation standards have been hailed as exceptional.
According to the Department of Transport, the country has been recognised for its aviation safety standards, which are among the highest in the world and the highest on the continent.
The department revealed through Government Communications and Information System (GCIS) that South Africa received an award from the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) for its exceptional preliminary International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) audit results.
“AFCAC is the African Union agency charged with regulating civil aviation on the continent and the preliminary results of South Africa's civil aviation safety system and supervision capabilities exceeded 90%, earning the country this distinction from AFCAC. Globally, the average rate of Effective Implementation is 67.50%,” said GCIS in a statement.
Commenting on this achievement, Minister of Transport Sindisiwe Chikunga said this special accolade gives her immense pleasure.
“It reaffirms our belief that the aviation authority does tremendous work in keeping our skies safe. This accolade goes to all who ensure safety is priority in our aviation sector," said Chikunga.
Statistic South Africa (Stats SA) recently published data collected by the Department of Home Affairs’ (DHA) immigration officers at the ports of entry into and out of the country.
According to the data, a total of 2 311 573 travellers (arrivals, departures and transits) passed safely through South African ports of entry/exit in June 2023 and these travellers were made up of 701 989 South African residents and 1 609 584 foreign travellers.
When it comes to modes of travel into the country, though road was the most common mode of travel used by 1 562 252 (67,6%) of the 2 311 573 travellers in June 2023, the total number of travellers who used air was 743 821 (32,2%).