Guy Leitch

It is a tragedy for general aviation that Rand Airport is currently in a state of upheaval, if not outright war. The airport has been through three General Managers in three years and there is ‘lawfare’ between factions of the board members.

In 2022, after six years on the job, the then Rand Airport General Manager Stuart Coetzee departed under a cloud of accusations of malfeasance and mismanagement amounting a claimed R8 million.

Coetzee was replaced with Kevin van Zyl who was soon thereafter replaced with Johnny Walker, who left earlier this year. The current ‘Caretaker’ General Manager is Hennie Delport, who has been central to the management and control of Rand for the past twenty four years.

The accusations of malfeasance and vested interests flying around at the time of Coetzee’s departure caused a massive rift in the Airport’s Operators and Holding Boards. And that rift continues today with ongoing litigation between Directors, that has been escalated all the way to the Supreme Court of Appeals. A number of sources claim that millions have been spent on legal fees in the fight over control of the airport.

As a result of the infighting, the airport’s management is in crisis. Other than the turnover of three General Managers within a year, some users claim that key accounts are unpaid, for example, that ATNS is owed R2.5m. A further claim is that there are no capable human resources left or funds available to stage the usually very successful Rand Airshow. Delport does however deny that the ATNS account is in arrears but he does say that there is a dispute with ATNS about their using the airport for ATC training. Regarding the airshow – Delport  strongly disputes that the problem is a shortage of funds as the Airport has a R6m reserve in the bank. Further he says a decision has been made to only hold the air show every second year as it becomes too much of the same thing. A date is currently being finalised for 2025.

A further indication of conflict at the airport is that it is claimed that an attempt was made to evict three tenants who had objected to the way the airport was being managed. However the tenants fought back and so far have stood their ground, which must be an endorsement of the value of being at Rand. Delport says that at the reason one of the tenants is facing eviction is only because their account is in arrears.

When the airport was sold off by the Johannesburg City Council in 2000, a specific condition of the sale was that it had to remain an airport, at least until 2020. This means that the way is now open to sell it off for warehousing.

The Land Issue

The conflict amongst the Directors reportedly revolves around the sale of large chunks of the airport’s land – which has become increasingly valuable. Hennie Delport says that just one developer is investing R1.5 billion in this development.

All nine stands amounting to 27 Ha on the eastern side which were sub-divided and proclaimed around the threshold of Runway 29 have been leased. Runway 29 is the longest and thus most important runway, however plans were approved for the construction of warehousing which encroached upon the sterile approach cone to Runway 29. In a very public debacle, which Delport says revolved around a misunderstanding with the CAA, the effective length of the runway was shortened by 400 metres, effectively stopping almost all biz-jet operators from using the airport. After heated exchanges, the CAA was prevailed upon to put a stop to the development and the threshold was returned to the beginning of the runway.

The conflict amongst the Directors led to a flurry of accusations and counterclaims. Amongst others – that the land is being leased cheaply to intermediate companies – who will then make obscene profits. The amount involved is not chump change. There is 147 Ha of land available which is worth billions. Yet some claim it is being sold off or leased for a third of its actual value. This naturally leads to accusations of ‘Airport Capture’ in the same way that the Guptas engaged in ‘State Capture’ with the South African government’s Zuma administration.

The Rand Airport Holding Company is part owned by the Mayondi BBBEE consortium and the Ekurhuleni Town Council, who have minority seats on the board. Whether the usual suspects in government are involved in the conflict is unknown, as the visible infighting is between the private sector hangar owners.

Given the demand for land around the airport, it has been suggested that there is a strong motivation to reduce the airport to a heliport and a few supporting businesses such as AMOs and helicopter flight schools. This would be an enormous loss for general aviation and would set back the plans for Rand being part of the greater OR Tambo Aerotropolis.

If Rand became a Heliport, large businesses such as Pilatus would be forced to move off the airport – as would the many flight schools and support services, plus the specialist engineering shops which have had a long history at Rand. As many of the specialist engineering business are owner-run and are already under pressure from the burden of CAA compliance, it is reasonable to conclude that many owners would probably close their business rather than move them to say Lanseria. This would be an incalculable loss to aviation in South Africa.

However, it must be noted that Hennie Delport and other views consulted in the formulation of this review believe the Heliport suggestion is absurd. And indeed the key protagonists operate large fixed wing aircraft which require all the available runway.

It is therefore argued that the disposal of land will raise the funds required to both lengthen and widen the runway and thus make it more attractive to large fixed wing operators

The Resolution

At time of writing the key issues relating to control of the airport are still being litigated, with the airport shareholders having to carry the burden of the legal fees. This is reminiscent of the South African taxpayer having to shoulder the enormous legal fees that Jacob Zuma’s ‘lawfare’ Stalingrad strategy cost the taxpayer.

The next step is a Shareholders’ Meeting which has been called for 14 October. At this meeting it is hoped that some of the key concerns can be disposed of without further ruinous litigation. Hennie Delport says that he would like to retire to the coast by the middle of 2025. However, he has invested so much of his life into Rand that he says his retirement will be subject to two preconditions: First that an acceptable Airport Manager have been appointed. Second, that there be a safe handover of the property development functions to secure the financial future of the airport.

If there is a moral to the story – perhaps it is that pilots and engineers should not attempt to run airports. It would be in everybody’s interests in A-type personalities were put aside and grown-ups were left to get on with the business of the airport.