By Garth Calitz South Africa’s aviation regulator celebrates international safety credentials and a clean audit record, but rising general aviation fatalities and questions over regulatory accountability offer a less comfortable picture. The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) had plenty to celebrate at its State of Aviation media conference on 13 October. South Africa remains among the world’s best-performing states for aviation safety oversight; the regulator has

By Garth Calitz Cybersecurity concerns, unexplained financial record deletions and an uncomfortable audit outcome have put South Africa’s air navigation service provider under scrutiny. For an organisation responsible for keeping the country’s skies orderly, the questions are piling up faster than the answers. Few organisations in South African aviation can afford to have a bad day quite like Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS). When the systems responsible for managin

Brazil signed its Gripen contract in 2014, covering 36 aircraft for the Brazilian Air Force: 28 single-seat Gripen E fighters and eight two-seat Gripen F aircraft. But this was never intended to be a simple purchase-and-delivery arrangement. Technology transfer was central to the deal, with Brazilian engineers and technicians working alongside Saab on aircraft development, manufacturing, systems integration and flight testing. Embraer became a key industrial partner, helping

Bell Textron has marked the start of production of the first AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter destined for Nigeria, bringing the West African country a step closer to adding a modern dedicated attack helicopter to its military inventory. The milestone was commemorated on 16 September 2026 at Bell’s Amarillo Assembly Centre in Texas, where a Nigerian delegation toured the production facility and participated in a beam-signing ceremony on the aircraft’s frame. The event marks the

The European manufacturer is weighing an expansion of its flagship wide-body programme as airlines seek more long-haul aircraft. The challenge is turning strong demand into deliverable airliners. Airbus is preparing to make an earlier-than-expected decision on increasing production capacity for its A350 wide-body aircraft, as demand for long-haul jets puts pressure on the manufacturer's existing industrial capabilities. Speaking on 14 October, Airbus Commercial Aircraft CEO L

South America’s first military SkyCourier delivery gives Paraguay a useful new transport capability. No afterburners, no supersonic flypasts, just the rather important business of getting people and supplies where they need to go. While defence procurement announcements are often accompanied by impressive photographs of fighter aircraft, elaborate mission statements and enough talk of strategic superiority to make a small country feel invincible, Paraguay has opted for someth

TAAG Angola Airlines CEO Miguel Caneiro takes the chair, with Air Botswana’s Bao Mosinyi as deputy. Their challenge? Turning Africa’s endless aviation promises into something passengers and airlines can actually use. The Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA) has elected new leadership for the next 12 months, with Miguel Caneiro, Chief Executive Officer of TAAG Angola Airlines, appointed Chairperson and Dr Bao Mosinyi, General Manager of Air Botswana, elected Deputy C

After three years of testing, Airbus UpNext’s Optimate demonstrator has completed its campaign, exploring how automation, artificial intelligence and advanced sensors could make aircraft taxiing and flight operations more efficient. The technology may be promising, but the final decision-maker in the cockpit remains reassuringly human. For three years, airports in Toulouse and Paris witnessed an unusual sight: an electric truck cruising around taxiways carrying a virtual repl

By Garth Calitz Photos by Trevor Cohen, Guy Martin and Garth Calitz There are airshows, there are fly-ins, and then there are days when aviation becomes something considerably more important than aircraft flying overhead. Saturday, 3 October 2026, at Wonderboom National Airport was firmly in the third category. The Elders’ Flight 2026 was an opportunity to give senior citizens a taste of flight, but that description rather undersells what happened. For more than 500 elderly S

By Garth Calitz Airlink will launch twice-daily flights between Lanseria and Cape Town in December, giving Gauteng travellers another way south and, for some, the considerably more attractive prospect of avoiding the cross-city expedition to O.R. Tambo. Airlink is spreading its wings at Lanseria International Airport, announcing that it will launch twice-daily services between Lanseria and Cape Town from 4 December 2026. The new route will be Airlink’s first scheduled domesti