FlySafair Sold, OR Tambo Queues And 16 Bomb Threats In One Day
- Harith's takeover of FlySafair cleared by the Competition Tribunal, with conditions
- At least sixteen flights across Europe hit by bomb threats in a day, with fighter escorts in three countries
- OR Tambo under fire: the queues, a tired building, and who is actually responsible
- Storm season is here: what ice does to an aircraft, and why the radar can miss it
- Ryanair may freeze pay and use more AI to cover a €2 billion rise in its fuel bill
- Three in four European pilots say they fought sleep on the flight deck in the past month
Harith's takeover of FlySafair cleared by the Competition Tribunal, with conditions
The Competition Tribunal approved Harith Aviation's purchase of 100% of Safair Holdings, FlySafair's parent company, on 27 October, with conditions. Its written reasons are still to come. Business Day puts the deal at R7 billion; the companies have not published a price. The conditions: no retrenchments because of the merger for three years after it goes through. And because Harith holds about 37% of Lanseria Airport, its people must stay out of Lanseria's decisions on pricing, slots and parking space for other airlines, with information walls and no shared directors. CemAir opposed the deal at the hearing in August. The companies say FlySafair keeps its management and its low-cost model, and they expect the deal to close before the end of 2026, once the remaining approvals are in.
At least sixteen flights across Europe hit by bomb threats in a day, with fighter escorts in three countries
At least sixteen passenger flights across Europe were targeted by bomb threats on Thursday 5 November, according to AeroTime. An Aer Lingus A320 from Dublin to Rome was escorted by the French Air and Space Force and diverted to Évreux air base in Normandy, landing with 151 passengers and six crew. A Finnair A321 from Helsinki to Rome was escorted by two Italian Eurofighters and landed on schedule. Bulgarian MiG-29s scrambled under NATO air policing to escort three Ryanair flights bound for Sofia; one diverted to Plovdiv. A Wizz Air flight from Milan to Warsaw diverted to Vienna. Czech police inspected four aircraft into Prague and rated the threats low credibility. A LOT flight was stopped on the taxiway at Warsaw and a runway closed for a time. Searches found nothing in any reported case. A similar series on Tuesday 3 November hit Ryanair, Wizz Air, LOT and SAS. Authorities have not identified who is responsible or said whether the incidents are connected.
OR Tambo under fire: the queues, a tired building, and who is actually responsible
Your comments, mostly on Instagram, landed on two things: international passengers queuing for hours after a long-haul flight, sometimes outside in the heat or the rain, and a building that looks like it is falling apart. Passport control is run by the Border Management Authority, not ACSA. The BMA has said it has only about a quarter of the staff it needs; Sunday World reported last month that it has roughly 2,520 people against a need of 11,200. February's Budget gave the BMA an extra R990 million over the next few years to fill 738 posts. Gauteng crime-prevention wardens have been working as immigration officers at OR Tambo for about a year, and e-gates for returning South Africans are planned. ACSA made a R1.2 billion profit in the year to March, says a R14.5 billion, five-year upgrade of OR Tambo is under way, with 870 toilets to be modernised in two phases, and its new CEO, Siphamandla Mthethwa, was due to start on 1 November. And one viewer's reminder: London, Amsterdam and New York have queues too.
Storm season is here: what ice does to an aircraft, and why the radar can miss it
Highveld storm season is under way. Inside a thunderstorm, water stays liquid well below freezing and turns to ice the moment it hits the aircraft. Australia's Bureau of Meteorology puts the risk between 0 and minus 40°C, worst between 0 and minus 15, and says a layer of ice no thicker than coarse sandpaper can cut lift by 30% and add 40% to drag. Higher up, tiny ice crystals barely show on weather radar, about 5% of a raindrop's signal according to Ireland's aviation authority, yet they can make engines lose power and ice up the probes that measure airspeed. Airbus's guidance to its pilots: the radar sees only liquid water, start avoiding a storm 40 nautical miles out, stay at least 20 clear, and never fly underneath one.
Ryanair may freeze pay and use more AI to cover a €2 billion rise in its fuel bill
Ryanair's half-year profit fell 15% to €2.15 billion, even though passengers rose 6% to 125.8 million and the average fare fell to €55.70. It expects its fuel bill to rise by about €2 billion in its next financial year, to March 2028, at current prices, and 80% of its fuel is hedged at 67 dollars a barrel until March 2027. It is reviewing every cost: it says staff may have to take temporary pay freezes where pay deals aren't already locked in, and it is looking at fewer cabin crew on some flights, harder negotiations with airports, and more AI in back-office work, which PYOK reports could mean fewer jobs at its Dublin head office. Michael O'Leary expects jet fuel to stay expensive well into 2027 unless the Middle East conflict ends quickly, and Ryanair expects short-haul fares to rise materially next year.
Three in four European pilots say they fought sleep on the flight deck in the past month
A European Cockpit Association survey of 7,200 pilots in 32 countries, analysed by the consultancy Baines Simmons, found 76.8% had at least one microsleep while operating an aircraft in the previous four weeks. 38.8% said they usually or always lack the rest to recover between duties. Only 37.2% report it when they are unfit through fatigue, and 24.2% fly anyway. 69.1% worry about the consequences if they refuse to extend a duty day. The association says almost nothing has improved since its 2023 survey, and that when pilots fear for their careers, fatigue goes unreported. The survey was voluntary and self-reported, and the headline figure also counts head-nodding and fighting to keep your eyes open.
The last time you flew into OR Tambo from overseas, how long did it take you to get through passport control? Tell us in the comments.
If this episode helped you, the easiest way to help us make more of them is Patreon. Five dollars a month. To everyone who already has, thank you.
Support on Patreon