The Northern Cape Provincial Government launched a successful Intra-Provincial Flight Service today to service the Northern Cape Province.
Northern Cape Premier, Ms Sylvia Lucas, on behalf of the Northern Cape Provincial Government today launched a successful Intra-Provincial Flight Service in conjunction with Phakalane Airways today, at the Kimberley Airport, Kimberley.
The establishment of the Intra-Provincial Flight Service marks yet another milestone in efforts of the Province growing a reliable and sustainable transport system.
Speaking at the launch, Premier Lucas said, “I am delighted to be here today to mark this prestigious launch of the Phakalane air transport service route which will link some of the major towns of the Northern Cape Province.”
“These new flights will provide our people in the Northern Cape with a fast, reliable and safe air service and give travellers more options of travelling between the towns. Air Transport is a critically important industry with a significant impact on our economy and the economic well-being of our people,” said the Premier.
She added that, “Like many economic activities that are infrastructure intensive, the transport sector is an important component of the economy impacting on development and the welfare of the population. When transport systems are efficient, they provide economic and social opportunities and benefits that result in positive multiplier effects such as better accessibility to markets, employment and additional investments.”
The Intra-Provincial Flight Service follows the Northern Cape Provincial Government commissioning a feasibility study to investigate the options of relying on some form of scheduled and non-schedule air service to address some of its VVIP, Northern Cape Provincial Government (NCPG) managerial and operational staff, private sector and larger Northern Cape communities with travel requirements within the Province.
Based on the feasibility study, the travel patterns indicated that it was possible to introduce an economically viable and safe air transport service linking the major towns in the province. The current business and tourist travel profile in the Northern Cape also makes it improbable to establish an intra-provincial air service purely on “market forces”.
In 2013 after much consultation the Provincial Government issued a tender to appoint a suitable service provider to render the Intra-Provincial Air Service.
Phakalane Airways was the successful bidder to assist Provincial Government to implement this service.
The establishment of the Airline is also a means for the Provincial Government to grow the transport system in the Province and utilize existing transport infrastructure for the development of an efficient, reliable transport system.
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Issued by the Northern Cape Department of Transport, Safety and Liaison