The CAMU's manager, Stuart Ratcliffe, is excited about the challenges that the Presidents Cup poses. "Together with ATNS George and the George Airport, the CAMU team has come up with a dynamic plan that is flexible enough to accommodate unexpected changes, like bad weather and delays from other airports."
Additional personnel have been brought in from ATNS Cape Town, who will reinforce George's complement of air traffic controllers and technical staff. Also, the CAMU will relocate some staff to George to assist over that period.
A system of arrival and departure slots, managed by the ATNS CAMU, will be in force from 14 to 26 November. Over that period, approximately 190 extra flights will arrive and depart from the airfield. This, coupled with the capacity constraints, has made catering for everyone's needs a challenging task. Due to so many applications, a "first come first serve" basis was adopted when allocating slot times.
The airport's proximity to both the Outeniqua mountain range and the coast means that weather variations and terrain affect aircraft movements, and requires both pilots and air traffic controllers to adhere to special procedures.
As George is not radar-equipped, aircraft operating in its airspace have to follow set procedures using ground-based navigation and approach aids. Moreover, air traffic controllers must use procedural control to separate aircraft, drawing on their extensive knowledge of aircrafts' anatomies and capabilities to perform this task. The challenge for them at George during the Cup is that they will be handling many types of aircraft, including small aircraft and large ones, such as 737s, 747s and Airbuses, a formidable challenge given the airport's spatial constraints.
But Lane is confident: "The staff of ATNS George see this event as a challenge which we are eager to take on and complete successfully. We are now excited and looking forward to the actual event as most of the planning is finalised."