AMENDMENT SUBMITTED TO MINISTER ON 10 JUNE; PROMULGATION STILL AWAITED

The 36th Amendment to the South African Civil Aviation Regulations, containing Parts 91 and 43 and their associated CATS including the critical Appendix 3, was submitted to the Minister of Transport on 10 June 2026 following the conclusion of collaborative technical work undertaken through the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA), the Civil Aviation Regulations Committee (CARCom), and a broad coalition of industry stakeholders. Despite this submission, the amendment remains unpromulgated, and the general aviation community is no closer to the implementation of the Condition Monitoring Programme (CMP) that would replace the current mandatory 12-year engine overhaul requirement with a performance-based monitoring approach.

The situation has been addressed in two concurrent industry communications: Aero Club of South Africa Communiqué No. 16 of 2026, issued by Aero Club President Wilhelm Labuschagne, and Media Release No. 20 of the AIC 18.19 Task Team, dated 8 July 2026 and issued under the collective auspices of the Commercial Aviation Association of South Africa (CAASA), the Aeroclub of South Africa, the Aviation Watch Action Committee, the Aviation Action Group and Concerned Aircraft Owners, Pilots, Engineers and Operators. Both documents confirm that two distinct factors are now delaying the Minister’s signature.

FACTOR ONE: THE STATE LAW ADVISER REFERRAL

The first delaying factor is procedural and legislative. In terms of current legislation, all proposed civil aviation regulatory amendments submitted to the Minister of Transport for promulgation must now first be referred to the Office of the Chief State Law Adviser (OCLA), a department within the Department of Justice, for review to determine whether the proposed legislation is consistent with the South African Constitution. This referral requirement was not anticipated during the regulatory development process and was not a required step at the time the CARCom process approved the amendments. The amendments to Parts 91 and 43 are accordingly currently with the OCLA, and no indication has been provided as to the expected duration of that review. The AIC 18.19 Task Team notes that SACAA has submitted several letters to the Minister seeking clarity on the status of the amendment and requesting an anticipated promulgation timeframe, and that no formal response has yet been received.

FACTOR TWO: AOPA-SA’S FORMAL OBJECTION TO THE MINISTER

The second delaying factor is a formal letter of objection submitted to the Minister of Transport by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of South Africa (AOPA-SA). AOPA-SA’s letter requests that the Minister not sign the proposed amendments enabling the CMP as set out in Appendix 3 of the Part 43 CATS. The substantive basis of AOPA-SA’s objection is that private aircraft owners were not meaningfully represented during the formulation of the proposed amendments or during the CARCom process that approved them. In accordance with applicable administrative process, the Minister is required to consider AOPA-SA’s representations before reaching a final decision on promulgation.

The Aero Club has directly contested this characterisation, stating that a consultative process was followed by a group of general aviation industry representatives, and that the Aero Club formed only part of a wider collaboration. The P91 Collective, the Motorised Aviation and Gliding Association of South Africa (MOGAS) and CAASA are all identified as having played a significant role in writing the amendment and in the process that ran from January through to the CARCom meeting in April. In response to AOPA-SA’s letter to the Minister, the P91 Consortium, MOGAS, CAASA and the Aero Club have written jointly to the Minister of Transport to affirm the general aviation industry’s support for the proposed amendments and to urge her to sign the promulgation regulations as quickly as possible. The Aero Club has stated clearly that it does not agree with AOPA-SA’s stance.

INTERIM EXEMPTION MECHANISM UNDER CONSIDERATION

During a recent meeting between industry representatives and the Director of Civil Aviation, SACAA indicated it was exploring the possibility of an interim regulatory mechanism — potentially in the form of an exemption or similar legal instrument — to provide temporary relief to aircraft owners and operators while the promulgation process is concluded. The AIC 18.19 Task Team emphasised, however, that no final decision has been made on this mechanism and that no commitment could be given regarding its implementation or timing. Until the 36th Amendment is promulgated, the existing mandatory 12-year engine overhaul requirement under Part 43 remains in force. The Aero Club has stated that any further developments will be communicated as soon as they are received.