George flights will continue to be disrupted until the end of May when the runway resurfacing is expected to be complete.

Airlines have been forced to divert some of their George-bound flights to Port Elizabeth over the past six weeks as the Civil Aviation Authority restricted the use of the airport in wet conditions. This followed an incident in December which led to the CAA ruling that the runway at George Airport would need to be resurfaced before aircraft above a certain size would be able to land and take off during rainy conditions. Diverting flights to Port Elizabeth has caused a lot of frustration of both passengers and the airline, says Desmond O’Connor, 1time Airline commercial manager. “When an aircraft is diverted to Port Elizabeth, it can be delayed for up to five hours as the passengers in George have to be bused to Port Elizabeth to catch their flight. In addition, the aircraft operates multiple routes and flights, so if it is delayed in Port Elizabeth, it will have huge spin-offs for the flights that it has to operate afterwards.” According to kulula head of airports, Noel Skinner, thousands of the airline’s passengers have been affected by the disruptions. “We have received negligible communication on the issue and with more winter weather on the way, the necessary repairs will be further delayed, costing kulula millions of rands due to diverted and disrupted flights.”
 
Acsa’s Solomon Makgale has told Tourism Update Online that work on the runway will take place at night and that the resurfacing will be completed in the third week of May.